Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has revealed his grand plan to subdivide the city to decentralise and enhance service provision to the residents.
The city boss disclosed plans to divide the city into five administrative units, otherwise known as boroughs to improve service delivery.
“The county is in the process of establishing five number administrative boroughs to bring services closer to the people,” the county chief told the Senate Devolution committee last week.
A borough is a town or division of a large town or city with limited powers delegated to it by the county government or state.
The units have a legal responsibility to provide services such as water and health services. London and New York are among the world's cities with boroughs.
In the new system, the capital will be divided into Nairobi North, Nairobi South, Nairobi East, Nairobi West and Nairobi Central.
Sakaja said the regions will be managed by boards and properly financed to improve service provision.
“The Borough will consist of a cluster of three or more subcounties and the process of formulating the boroughs will include public participation sessions to seek views of the residents of Nairobi on how they will want their boroughs to be governed,” Sakaja said.
Currently, the city is divided into 17 subcounties (constituencies) and 85 wards managed by subcounty and ward administrators respectively.
The administrators are the governor’s eyes in the units. They are responsible for coordinating, supervising and managing the general administrative functions in the subcounty and ward unit.
“The subcounty administrator shall be responsible for the coordination, management and supervision of the general administrative functions in the subcounty unit, including— the development of policies and plans; service delivery; developmental activities to empower the community,” Section 50 of the County Governments Act, 2012 states.
The boroughs, he added, will be administered by borough managers who will be responsible for the day-to-day rolling out of activities.
The managers will involve neighborhood associations in identifying pressing services needed within the brought.
“What we are coming up with will end the marinization which is worse in urban areas. In Nairobi today, thousands of people are sleeping hungry because if you don’t have money, you cannot eat,” he said.
This, he added, will ensure the city residents, are directly involved in the planning, identification and implementation of various projects and services.
They include roads, health services, sewer, greening or beautification and drainage maintenance services as well as in the decision-making.
“This is aimed at implementing projects that are pro-people rather than implementing projects that didn’t emanate from the people,” he said.
The Borough, the county boss disclosed, will also have committees of neighbourhood associations as well as representatives of other relevant sectors.
“The committees will be responsible for oversighting of the day-to-day governance of the Boroughs,” he said.
Currently, decisions on which projects are implemented in various wards and subcounties are largely being decided by City Hall, despite public participation.
“Public participation has not had any meaning. There has been no mechanism of feedback and how to incorporate public views,” Sakaja said.
However, the governor said he has established a standalone docket – Inclusivity, Public Participation and Customer Service – to give meaning to public participation as envisioned in the Constitution.
He asked the Senate to amend the Urban Areas and Cities Act, of 2011 to introduce a section specifically addressing boroughs as administration units in cities.
He pointed out that the section will cover aspects such as the establishment of Boroughs and its management.
“It is important to note that Kenya does not have specific Boroughs Administration system in place. The administrative structure in Kenya is primarily organized into counties," he said.
Further, he wants the Act amended to grant the governor of counties with boroughs as administrative units the authority to formulate regulations concerning the administration tailored to the particular requirements and circumstances of that county.