•NMS' tenure ends on October 24.
•Upon his election, Sakaja said all county functions would be reverted to City Hall after he is sworn in.
Image: NMS
Nairobi Metropolitan Services has officially handed over the transferred functions back to the Nairobi County Government.
This puts Governor Johnson Sakaja in full control of the 14 functions of the county.
The key functions include Health, Transport and Planning .
In a ceremony on Friday, Sakaja and outgoing Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa signed the deed that officially transferred the functions.
Outgoing Attorney general Paul Kihara was also present.
NMS Director General Lt. Mohammed Badi said it was a remarkable two-year journey that saw change in Nairobi and he was grateful for being part of it.
"I would like to thank Governor Sakaja for helping us guide NMS to what we have achieved today… It has been a rigorous and remarkable 2 years culminating to this very moment as we officially handover the transferred functions back to the county government," he said.
Looking back at the track record , Badi said NMS performed its tasks quite well across the four transferred functions in accordance with county integrated development plans resulting in tangible positive outcomes that many Nairobi residents can attest to.
Badi however said he remains devoted to supporting the county government in the execution of its mandate.
"As I pass the baton to the governor, I remain devoted to supporting the county government in the execution of its mandate and realisation of the aspirations of the people of Nairobi and Kenya at large," he added.
On his part, Governor Sakaja said all staff that were transferred to NMS will be absorbed back to the county.
"There is no former NMS staff or former county gov’t staff, you are all staff of the Nairobi County gov’t and you will work together as equals. We will have space for everybody ,"he said.
The signing of the deed of transfer left City Hall in control of less influential departments.
They include ICT and e-government, education and sports, agriculture and livestock, trade and co-operatives, devolution, environment and finance sectors.
As a result, Former President Uhuru Kenyatta on March 17, 2020, established the NMS and appointed Badi as its director general
The deed of transfer gave NMS the mandate to carry out the functions for 24 months, renewable from the date of establishment.
However, in March this year, the NMS tenure was extended to August 9 and another three months was added to allow for transition once a governor is elected.
According to a notice by Nairobi county secretary Jairus Musumba, there was to be a three-month handover period to ensure continuous service delivery.
An assumption of office of the governor formed a committee to oversee the transition.
NMS' tenure ends on October 24.