Nairobi County to be scrapped, branded new name and cabinet secretary

Image result for Aaron CheruiyotThe question of whether Nairobi should cease to be a county is here with us, once again – and there is a case for it.

Kericho Senator Aaron Cheruyot becomes the second senator to propose that Nairobi County be scrapped and its management reverted to the National Government.

 

Cheruiyot is also proposing in a Bill that is now awaiting publication before being introduced to the Senate that the name capital City be replaced by the Name National Capital City, the first move to remove the Capital as one of the devolved units was sponsored by then Murang’a Senator Kembi Gitura in 2016 .

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When the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment Bill) (No. 2), Bill, 2016 was published on November 21, 2016, many had hoped it would lead to this awakening. It is a Bill that had taken  a lot of time to consider and to consult with the Senate Legal Department.

In it, some proposed that the Constitution be amended such that the territory of Kenya is divided into the National Capital City and 46 counties, in short, that Nairobi be specifically designated the National Capital City, the seat of the national government and thus cease being a county as currently is the position.

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I went further to propose that the President would have the power under the Constitution to appoint a Cabinet secretary to be in charge of the Capital City, to exercise such powers and perform such functions as may be delegated to him.

Further and in full realisation that the citizens of Nairobi pay tax and therefore must have representation (no tax without representation), I proposed that although there would be no senator or a county assembly in Nairobi, there would be constituencies as currently constituted such that there would be representation in the National Assembly.

Finally, I proposed that by an Act of Parliament, other relevant administrative structures would be created for the city.

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The Bill was published at a time when temperatures had started to rise as we approached the 2017 General Election and the reaction was swift. There were those who claimed I was acting at the behest of the Jubilee Party to stop certain people from running for governor in Nairobi and indeed, I recall Raphael Tuju calling a press conference at Jubilee House to dissociate the party from the Bill.

I came to Nairobi in the mid-70s to study at the university and I have never left. I have watched the city grow and I recall clearly when we took services by the City Council for granted because everything was working to our general satisfaction. Buru Buru was one of the most beautiful estates to stay in and you could not erect a wall around your house — leave alone build an extension — without approval of the Director of City Planning, and it did not matter who you were! Garbage was collected and on time, transport on Kenya Bus was flawless, the lighting system worked and yes, Nairobi was the green city in the sun.

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