The Nairobi City government is not overwhelmed by floods and is handling the situation well, Governor Johnson Sakaja said.
He denied a statement of Senator Edwin Sifuna that the government is overwhelmed and uncertain of help promised by the national government in the most affected areas.
Sifuna said this on Monday during a briefing on the floods.
"As MPs all we want to see is a plan we can get behind. The county government is overwhelmed and it is worrying that the help promised from national government has still not arrived in most of the affected areas," the legislator said.
But speaking to the Star on Tuesday, Governor Sakaja said the situation is not dire.
"No, we are not overwhelmed. We are working with different agencies. What he meant is what the other arms of government ought to do they have not done," he said.
"We have control over the situation. Normally when we have a disaster like this, it's a whole-of-nation approach."
He said his government has 10 camps for displaced persons and people are resettling.
The county government has come up with strategic plans to ensure Nairobi is not caught unprepared by heavy rains.
Among the plans is ensuring people do not settle in riparian areas.
Sakaja pointed out that living in water paths is the main reason people have been rendered homeless by the heavy rains, as rivers have been breaking their banks.
"We have agreed on this issue, that where people have been forced to leave because rivers took the paths, we will not allow them to resettle there," he said.
He said during Monday's county leadership meeting with Sifuna and others they agreed that all riparian areas will be secured.
The governor directed persons living in those areas to start vacating.
The government will construct walkways and cycle paths around the waterways.
"We will also plant trees along the paths. I just want the people to know that we have a plan and urge them to be patient as we work," Sakaja said.
His government is planning the reconstruction of bridges in rivers around the city, including the 13 swept way in this period.
The bridges will be completed by the end of the week to enable learners to travel to and from school.
"There are 13 bridges which have been destroyed by the ongoing floods, so we have said we require a week to reconstruct them with immediacy to avoid inconveniencing schoolchildren," he said.
Regarding the doctors' strike, Sakaja said the city has four government hospitals and 124 run by the county government.
He explained held talks with the doctors and they agreed that since their pay is from the county they have no reason to strike alongside those working in national government hospitals.
"Most doctors are working and one cannot lack services. We have also increased drugs in the hospitals. We are anticipating that if there will be diseases like cholera we are ready,"
