STATE OF THE COUNTY ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY DR. EVANS KIDERO, GOVERNOR OF NAIROBI CITY COUNTY AT THE RE-OPENING OF THE NAIROBI COUNTY ASSEMBLY ON WEDNESDAY 12TH FEBRUARY 2014

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, Happy New Year to you all!

As you are aware, after the general elections held on 4th March 2013, the County Government was officially launched with the swearing in of my Deputy and I on 27th March. A year has therefore almost gone by, with the County still facing myriad challenges and issues, but also presenting great opportunities to turn our perceived weaknesses into strengths; to offer solutions for now and the future.

At this point, I wish to take this opportunity to thank the honourable members of the County Assembly for the cordial relationship that we have had with the Executive, including the passing of a record number of Bills during the past six (6) months.

I also wish to thank the honourable members for the Bills that have been passed to date, and even for the Bills that are yet to be tabled. Of particular note I wish to thank the honourable members for the recently enacted Wards Development Fund Bill, 2014 which will go a long way in bringing development closer to our people.

Nairobi County is the main commercial centre of the country and has a well-developed infrastructure, including modern financial and communications systems. It hosts the country’ largest industrial centre which accounts for over 30 per cent of the National Gross Domestic Product. It is one of the most prominent cities in Africa both politically and financially; home to thousands of Kenyan business and over 100 major international companies and organisations; it is an established African hub for business and culture.

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The growth rate of the population in the County is currently reported at 4.1%. This relatively high growth rate has brought many challenges including traffic congestion, expansion of slums and informal settlements, water shortages, garbage, storm water and shortage of health and educational facilities. About 60% of Nairobi’s population lives in informal settlements where services are extremely limited or non-existent. We will probably have 8 million people living in Nairobi by the close of the decade, and perhaps 40 million-more than the present population of this Country-by the year 2050.

Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members,The FY 2013/2014 budget estimates have been prepared in accordance with the Constitution of Kenya, the provisions of the Public Finance Act, 2012 and the County Governments Public Finance Management Transition Act, 2013 among other legislations guidelines.

The County expects to raise Ksh.24.9B in the fiscal year 2013/2014. An additional amount of ksh370M which forms part of the appropriations is the bank balances expected to be carried forward from the current financial year. This brings the total appropriated amount to Ksh25.3B. Out of the Ksh24.9B the County expects to raise an amount of Ksh9.9B is expected to be transferred from the National Treasury according to article 216 of the Constitution of Kenya. The County expects to raise Ksh14.8B from land rates, various fees and charges using the rates proposed in the Finance Bill. These fees and charges have been included in the printed estimates.

Total expenditure has been estimated at Ksh25.2B. Out of this an amount of Ksh7.6B or 30% will be spent on capital and development projects. Operations and maintenance is expected to take Ksh4.5B or 18% while personal emoluments will take 10.4B or 41%. Debt repayment is expected to takes Ksh2.7B which is equivalent to 11%. Currently the county does

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not maintain an Emergency Fund. We however, propose to transfer an amount of Ksh119M to an Emergency Fund to be able to respond to unforeseen disaster. The apparent high wage bill has been based on Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed by the defunct Local Authorities and the Kenya Local Government Workers Union. This calls for serious thinking because in ideal situation personnel costs should not exceed 30% of the total expenditure. Although the administrative structures are in place to ensure the smooth running of the County Government, there are a number of challenges concerning the huge wage bill for the actual members of staff (currently 10,915 staff with a gender distribution of 5,873 male and 5,042 females) and a huge debt. The way forward to address these challenges includes right sizing and a coherent HR policy and program.Last December, the County signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission with a view to ensure that staff members comply with various regulations. An e-payment system to minimize cash handling by employees and curb revenue leakage has been put in place.

In order to develop the competency of our human resources, the following measures have been undertaken to build the capacity of the County staff:

Approval of training requests locally and abroad Refund of tuition fees for self-sponsored courses to officers Awards of salary increment to officers for successfully completing

courses Grants study leave Attachment chances for County officers when undergoing training

from various institutions

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members,The transport system we inherited is one of the most representative examples of the challenges we face: Our basic urban road network is still the one designed in the 1970s for less than one million inhabitants. The

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network throughout the country, excluding sections of the national highways that traverse the urban areas, supports 32% of the total population and generates 75% of GDP in the Country. Nairobi accounts for about 45% share of this network. Despite many commendable efforts and achievements by the National Government, the transport infrastructure is still mostly inadequate and in disrepair.

Vehicle ownership rates, congestion and emissions are expected to increase significantly through the next 20 years. It is estimated that there are now about 700,000 cars in Nairobi, a figure which has more than doubled the 330,000 counted in 2012. This increase in vehicles is mainly, but not exclusively due to the expansion in financial services and inadequacies in the public transport system. The consequence of this phenomenal increase, not matched with expansion of infrastructure and traffic management, has resulted in the now too familiar and stressful traffic jams and gridlocks. The World Bank estimates the costs of these jams at about $2.5 million a day, equivalent to 1.5% of the national GDP per year!

At an estimated 0.7 cars per capita (i.e. 7 cars for every 10 people in 2050), it is likely we will have nearly 9 million vehicles in Nairobi by that year, when about 13 million people will be seeking transport daily. These scenarios call for dynamic, innovative thinking and planning.

On the positive side, the city’s infrastructure network is receiving priority from the National Government. The new systems of roads, flyovers, and bridges will certainly reduce the outrageous traffic levels in CBD.

Most roads now are well lit and surfaced with adequate signage. Recently, several projects have been completed in order to ease traffic congestion in the city; these include Syokimau Rail Station and the Thika Road Bypasses. The development of more bypasses and ring roads will continue to be critical in reducing traffic congestion in the City. We also appreciate

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the National Government’s investments and remarkable efforts in expanding JKIA, the results of which will have a profound impact on our City.

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, To address new and emerging challenges in the Roads, Public Works and Transport sector, the County has put, or is putting in place, different initiatives to build internal capacity; these include:

The creation of a secretariat to drive the new transformation framework

Re-engineering and revamping of the engineering department with new capabilities to address behavior and attitude change in the road and transport sector

Recruitment and development of the County traffic Marshals who will manage traffic

Mobilization of stimulus funds to rehabilitate and repair of roads in all the 85 wards in Nairobi City County

Re-engaging the bilateral and multi-lateral development partners with a view to mobilizing resources for transport

Exploring the existing studies and construction of 9 corridors being done by KURA, KERRA and KENHA. These are: Jogoo Road, Langata Road, Outer Ring Road, Ngong Road, Mombasa Road, Waiyaki Way, Limuru Road and Juja Road.

Initiation of Bus Rapid Transport, Mass Rapid Transport System Commencement of a study to conduct cable vehicles

Preparations for a major Traffic Management Master Plan Study are under way with funds from the World Bank. We expect that implementation of the recommendations of the study will begin this year and will culminate into the establishment of a world class traffic management system for Nairobi.

There are also plans to establish the Nairobi Metropolitan Transport Authority (the NMTA) which will be a “joint venture” between Nairobi and

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the neighbouring counties of Kajiado, Machakos, Kiambu and Muranga. The Bill for the establishment of the Authority, expected to be in place by December 31, 2014, is soon to be tabled in the National Parliament under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure. In the past month, we have established a transport and urban decongestion committee, whose mandate is to review all existing termini with a view to create a vibrant, safe, secure and reliable transport system in Nairobi, explore the viability of Nairobi Metropolitan Transport System, create a policy on pedestrian crossing and how to encourage pedestrians to use foot bridges as well as formulate and develop a Nairobi County Transport Policy. The committee is expected to be ready with its report by the end of April 2014.

My Government has in conjunction with the Speaker of the County Assembly enlisted the participation of the honorable members of the County Assembly in identifying road projects which need to be undertaken as a matter of priority, a process which is currently ongoing.

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members,In the last decade, Nairobi has not had a broad spatial framework to guide and manage the growth of a city in an organized manner. The 1973 City Master plan was designed to serve the city up to the year 2000 and since then the City’s development has been guided by sector and ad-hoc plans that are un-coordinated in the face of multiple challenges.

In 2009, the Government of Kenya received technical assistance from the Japanese government to formulate an Integrated Urban Development Master Plan. The proposed plan will provide a policy framework for guiding orderly, coordinated and sustainable urban development up to 2030.

Plan preparation started in November 2012, and since then, major milestones have been achieved including a City Status Report, Detailed Strategic Environmental Assessment Consultations Report and the

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recently completed Stakeholders Planning Consultations Report. The plan preparation will be completed in June 2014; I will be requesting you Honourable Members to approve and adopt the plan.

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members,A Valuation Roll is a schedule of all registered properties within the jurisdiction of the County Government with their corresponding values upon which property taxation (rates) is based. Rates account for over 30% of the total County Revenue base. The last Valuation Roll was prepared in 1980 by the then City Council of Nairobi.

Preparation and Maintenance of Valuation Rolls was guided by the Valuation for Rating and the Rating Acts, Caps. 266 and 267 respectively. The two Acts were enacted in the early 1970’s, but they have undergone several amendments over the years. However, they are not compatible with the new legislative dispensation. A new Draft Valuation for Rating Bill, 2014 and Nairobi City County Rating Bill, 2014, is to be tabled in the County Assembly for approval.

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members,It is estimated that Nairobi City County has over 300,000 registered properties. However, by July, 2013, the number of ratable properties stood at 124,000. This increased to 129,704 properties by December, 2013. This increase is still minimal and more needs to be done to capture all ratable properties within our boundaries. In this respect the County Government has acquired GIS Data to a tune of 4.0 million to assist in capturing more properties into a ratable base which will translate to additional revenue in the form of rates.The former City Council of Nairobi operated without any Fixed Asset Register. During this Performance Contract year we intend to update the Asset Schedule whose preparation began about one year ago. This will

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eventually culminate to Valuation of Fixed Assets in order to determine the net worth of the County Government.

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members,The issue of land is of serious concern to citizens; in its existence, the former City Council of Nairobi allocated public land to individuals, companies and organizations. Other land belonging to the Council was allocated by the Commissioner of Lands. For the last six months, we have embarked on preparing an inventory of the former Council’s land that was irregularly allocated from various documented sources. Once this is prepared the same will be presented before the County Assembly for policy guidelines, and/ or legislation.

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, The County Government, in May 2013, agreed with Land Buying companies and Housing cooperative societies to formulate a framework for regularization of their developments that have not been granted prior approvals. It is noteworthy that the unauthorized developments have been facilitated by lack of ownership documents by property owners in these schemes.In order to fast track the programme, the county is piloting preparation of titles for Chieko Housing Limited in Kasarani and Utawala/ Mihang’o, Githunguri/ Njiru Farmers schemes in Embakasi. Most of the work is completed on 709 sub-plots in Chieko with allotments letters prepared to be issued by the Governor to plot owners in the week starting 17th

February 2014.

However, the County lacks a legislative framework for undertaking regularization. We appeal for support from the honourable Members of the County Assembly from the areas concerned to mobilize all stakeholders to embrace the program to make it a success.

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The pilot areas are to be completed by May 2014 as we roll out of the program to the larger Kasarani, Embakasi areas and other parts of the County.

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members,The City County of Nairobi faces a big challenge of providing adequate, affordable and decent housing for the rapidly growing population. Over 850,000 households within the County require affordable housing provision.

The County and other government agencies own approximately 2,000 acres of land in the Eastern part of the City which is now occupied by derelict and substandard housing. The above area accommodates about 9,557 households only. It is important to note that only 40% of the buildings within the County have formal approval which brings into question the structural integrity of these buildings.

The County intends to partner with private sector and other stakeholders to carry out a comprehensive urban renewal which will; ensure optimal land utilization; provide affordable housing and; revitalize socio-economic development and physical infrastructure. It is expected that once the area is redeveloped, it will be able to produce some 81,000 units to accommodate nearly half a million people. Accordingly, it will be necessary to expand; restructure, and upgrade the existing physical social infrastructure to support the proposed developments. The County is required to develop a PPP and legislative framework to guide implementation of the project. We expect the County Assembly Members to support this innovative initiative and help me in mobilizing citizenry support for its achievement.

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, Good health is a basic component of human wellbeing and a necessity to earn a livelihood. The County Health Sector registered an expansion in the

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number of health institutions from 387 in 2008 to 562 health institutions in 2012 with a doctors to population ratio estimated at around 1:23,000, which makes access to health a big challenge. The average number of beds per 1,000 people in Nairobi was 0.74, a significant decrease from the estimated Kenya national average of 1.4.

Among the Nairobi residents seeking treatment, approximately 47% seek private health facilities/providers, including private dispensaries, hospitals and private clinics. Only 8.5% prefer major public facilities such as public health care centres and district hospitals, though 13% prefer public dispensaries.

The main threats to the health sector include the high poverty levels, high level of pollution and slum dwellings that enhance multiple hygiene risks. Notwithstanding these threats, some opportunities can be exploited to improve this situation, including the enhancement of access, increasing competitiveness to reduce the costs of treatment, and immunization programmes to reduce child and maternal mortality.

The County Government is currently working on the revitalization of Pumwani, Mbagathi and Mutuini hospitals as well as other health facilities within the County to improve health service provision. We have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Nairobi to help us with quantification of cost (bill of quantities) and design of any new constructions at Pumwani Hospital. Additionally, a high dependence unit that was not present at the facility leading to many maternal and neonatal deaths has now been procured and is awaiting installation. A new theatre has been sited in addition to the existing two has been sited and machinery procured awaiting installation. Renovation works of the kitchen have been quantified and contract awarded. The County Government is also at the tender stage for drilling of a borehole for Pumwani Hosptial, as well as rehabilitation of the walkways. We also plan to set up a 20 bed

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maternity wing at Mutuini Hospital at an estimated cost of 60 million shillings.The County Government in conjunction with various development partners have been able to avail two ambulance vehicles to Pumwani Hospital at an estimated cost of 5.5 million each and one ambulance vehicle to Mbagathi District Hospital at an estimated cost of 7 million shillings. As a measure to improve service delivery, we are pleased that for the first time, all County Hospitals are now procuring their drugs and non-pharmaceuticals from KEMSA.

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members,Since the establishment of the Nairobi County Government, there has been considerable improvement of water production from 480,000 cubic meters to 545,000 cubic meters per day. This has enabled water users in South C, B, estates along Mombasa road including the airport and Embakasi to get more water supply.

These achievements are results of modification at the treatment plants for efficient production, maintenance of transmission mains and management of catchment areas. The increase in production contributed to improved revenue collection to sustain water service delivery to users.

Water services in the informal settlements have also been improved; 22 kilometres of various sizes of water pipelines, 24 water kiosks and several ablution blocks have been constructed. Further, sewer reticulation has been done in Kayole Soweto, Spring Valley/ Matopeni, Riverside and Embakasi. This has reduced the cost of water in informal settlements from the average of 5/= or 10/= per litre to less than 2/=.We have also reduced water distribution losses, also known as non-revenue losses, from 40% in March 2013 to 38% in December 2013. This has been made possible through extensive replacement of stopped and faulty customer meters, rehabilitation of distribution pipe network, quick

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response to leaks and bursts, identification and metering of illegal connections as well as improved meter reading and billing.

In addition to these, water services have been devolved to customers through the establishment of 25 zones as units of management. Innovative technological methods of reaching out to customers have been rolled out.

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members,Despite many improvements registered in the sector, there are still a number of challenges to be addressed, the main one being that the demand for water in the County exceeds the supply by over 50%. The total Nairobi Metropolitan domestic water demand is expected to rise from 412,847 cubic meters per day in 2007 to 2,508,140 cubic meters per day in 2030. Other challenges include vandalism of infrastructure and lack of land tenure in the informal settlements; illegal connections; overloaded sewer infrastructure and lack of an integrated master plan for the city.

Our County Government, in partnership with the relevant National Government bodies, is developing new water sources for the City County and is piloting prepaid meter for deployment in all the informal settlements. Measures are being taken to further lower the cost of water in informal settlements to a maximum of 50 cents per jerry can of 20litres.

In order to ensure smooth transition and devolution in the sector, the National Government this year appointed a Task Force under the chairmanship of the County Executive for Water to examine critical issues relating to the legal and regulatory framework and services delivery issues. The Task Force will also review the Water Bill and make recommendations to the Cabinet Secretary by the end of this month.

In addition, in order to address the above existing challenges in proactive manner and to continuously improve on service delivery in the sector, the

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agency in charge of water and sewerage service, Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company is currently reviewing its strategic plan. Among the key areas of focus is mobilization of more resources to expand and rehabilitate water and sewer infrastructure, use of enhanced technology to improve on efficiencies in all operational areas like meter reading and bill, with emphasis on improving customer satisfaction. Other key area of focus is reduction of water losses that occur due to encroachment of the way leaves and vandalism of infrastructure and water theft through illegal connections. My Government will propose to this honorable County Assembly some legislative mechanisms to deter such practices that lead to unnecessary water losses.

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members,A clean, healthy and appealing surrounding immensely promotes and sustains good quality of life for the residents, visitors and business community in the City. The wellbeing of both the natural and built environment is undoubtedly a common denominator in all the facets of development strategies of the County Government. My County Government, in order to deliver better services to its residents, has put in place different programs including: Rolling out of the County wide monthly clean-up campaign dubbed “My

waste, My responsibility”. The clean-ups have provided forums for demystifying the County Government through closer and more relaxed interactions with the public. Consequently, positive ripple effects in forms of other satellite clean-ups and other partnership areas like beautification are being observed across the city. It is my humble request that Honourable Members of this Assembly will continue supporting this initiative amongst their respective constituents for faster realisation of its ideals.

Waste management services are being decentralized to the 17 sub-counties in the city. This has already seen results in daily waste collection and delivery to Dandora where it has improved from 800 to 1,000 tons.

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In order to boost the current waste collection capacity, the Government recently acquired a 13-ton compactor. Additionally, the Government has set aside Ksh 272 million for procurement of more waste collection trucks during this financial year. The trucks will be in operation soon.

My government is also engaging with key stakeholders, including the aviation industry, in order to reach a consensus on the location, design, implementation, management and other aspects of a comprehensive and modern waste handling facility.

My County Government in conjunction with our development partners, is looking into ways in which we can generate power from the Dandora dumpsite, and by so doing create job opportunities for our youth in the process.

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members,Currently, the Environment Sector has successfully assumed Noise Pollution Control function from the National Environment Management Authority. The sector is using the existing resources to discharge this function which will be progressively improved to ensure the city is free from unacceptable levels of noise at all times.

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members,The education sector in our County comprises of public schools, private schools and informal schools. By 2012, there were a total number of 216 primary schools, more than 185 private primary schools and over 270 non-formal schools. There were more than 60 registered secondary schools and more than 17 universities both public and private.However, despite the number of schools and universities in the County, the illiteracy rates in Nairobi for the 15-54 age groups are palpably low;

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7.8% for women and 5.8% for men. Nairobi County has the lowest illiteracy rates compared to the rest of the country, i.e. 21% for women and 12% for men. 56.4% of women and 67.3% of men have attended secondary schools and above, compared with 48.2% and 57.7% respectively for urban areas in general in Kenya. These education standards are not commensurate with our national standing as a County.

We can measure our County’s education system performance by considering our performance in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) which has been declining since 2003. Although last year, Nairobi County was ranked seventh in the performance of students in KCPE exams from position 15 in 2012, it is still below the performance attained in 2003. This is mainly the result of the increase in the city’s population, which affects negatively the performance of the students due to the straining of the learning facilities in schools. Our County has the lowest transition rate in the whole country, currently standing at 52 % compared to the national rate of 78 %.

This calls for a concerted and deliberate plan to address the situation as soon as possible to make sure our County leads others in this year’s examinations. There is urgent need to improve the performance in public and informal schools in order to avoid a class-based society, in which only those who can afford to attend private schools have access to better education, since the highest scores in the KCPE (over 400 out of 500) are all from private schools.

In an effort to address the poor performance displayed by the public schools, I convened a stakeholder forum on education, which identified key issues which need to be looked into to improve education standards. As a result, a taskforce was set up whose terms of reference is to; undertake comprehensive needs analysis, engage stake holders to capture new & emerging issues, generate a report on the identified issues, workshop key issues to identify & formulate solutions, generate a

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report on recommended solutions, generate draft county education policy, generate draft county education Bill, generate an action plan, generate cost estimates for the action plan and to present the taskforce report and draft policy to the Executive in two months’ time. The taskforce will also cover the ECDE sector as well where challenges include inadequate number of centres and lack of interest.

To address efficiency, sharing of information and exposing our children and teachers to the global learning resources, we have partnered with Zuku, Microsoft and Kenet to provide a comprehensive ICT package to all the public schools. Zuku will do fibre cabling for faster internet connectivity, while Microsoft will lead a consortium that will provide hardware and software, whereas Kenet will provide internet services. We are aware of the Government’s plan to issue laptops to class one pupils in public primary schools. The County Government’s plan will avail the infrastructure for optimum use of these laptops and will at the same time cater for those pupil/students in other classes.

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members,The Constitution of Kenya mandates the devolved governments to provide for the early education system. The County intends to reform the education system in terms of quantity, quality and inclusiveness of the youth polytechnics. Ksh 2 billion will be provided in the next budget to rehabilitate and expand infrastructure in all public schools, so that these schools become competitive schools of choice for Nairobi residents. The rehabilitation will also target houses for teachers and only those who work in these schools will be allowed to stay in the houses within the same institution. A Task Force has been launched for this purpose and their report is expected in March 2014.

The feasibility study from this Task Force will include the County social halls and facilities. A separate budget for the rehabilitation of the social

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halls will be provided and a PPP approach will be adopted in the implementation of the rehabilitation programme for some of the social halls.

Already, Safaricom and KPLC have taken on revamping of the Dandora and Pumwani Social halls. Discussions with other private sector players to rehabilitate other social halls are on-going. Many of the youth activities will be hosted there. In partnership with Housing Finance Corporation, TVET institutions and KEPSA, the County is mounting market driven education and training for the youth to enhance access to employment.

The County Government has partnered with Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and the University of Nairobi for mutual benefit. The County will tap into the reservoir of expertise available at the two institutions, while the County will offer internship opportunities for the University students. The Schools of Architecture, Engineering and Urban Planning will be areas of focus for the County to exploit as a start.

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members,We cannot forget to mention that Nairobi County, like our Nation, is faced by the enormous challenge of youth unemployment. Some of the ways the County intends to meet challenges in youth unemployment is through innovative strategies in job creation and other income generating activities including self- enterprises. These innovative strategies may include advising on running businesses efficiently and improving market access. In this respect, the County will encourage youth to seek and derive solutions to their own problems; to create their own employment by creating own SACCOs, joint market techniques, assisted where possible by facilitation through advisory services and access to the Uwezo fund.

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Our County is also in the process of creating a Youth Council which will serve as an umbrella organization for policy advice and guidance for implementation of youth activities in order to achieve set targets. The County will not hesitate to seek for support from all the development partners to meet these challenges and provide appropriate incentives to relevant parties.

Through the Enhanced Youth Programme, the County will allow about 30% access to County procurement tenders by the youth, women and people with disabilities. A framework for realisation of this target has been developed and a bill to anchor the provision into county laws and policies is being crafted. A MoU with USAID has been drafted which among other things, provides for youth access to funds availed through Youth Bunge Saccos funded by USAID to set up businesses and create employment. There is also a programme working with various stakeholders to support the employment of 600 youth to work as traffic marshals in the City.

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members,Security in the County is a major concern and challenge. We are proposing bills to this Assembly to deal with drugs and narcotics. A major achievement will also be the enactment of the proposed Metropolitan Police Bill, which will enable us to recruit, train and have in place our own force to deal with the challenge of insecurity and disorder.

It is also important to note that we have passes a Bill under the Physical Planning Act that requires all buildings to incorporate ICT into their building plans. This will improve security surveillance through the use of technology such as CCTV.

Following the bomb blast in August 1998 and other recent attacks Nairobi continues to be a terrorist target, the latest being the Westgate attack. The National Government gazetted a team which I chair, to investigate

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the Westgate attack and come up with solutions to mitigate future attacks at such public facilities and also to fast track the restoration of the Westgate Mall. As a County Government, we are not only looking at Westgate, but the security of all such facilities to curb any attempts by terrorists to mete violence and terror against our innocent people.

My Government is at the forefront in support of security initiatives such as Nyumba Kumi which encourages people to know their neighbours. We shall bring before the honourable Assembly legislation to empower neighbourhood associations in a bid to improve the security situation in our neighbourhoods.

We are also preparing legislation which will change the City Inspectorate to Metropolitan Police, in order to increase the ratio of Police to the populace, and increase surveillance and police presence, which acts as a deterrent to crime.

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members,A sure program for the empowerment of all, especially women and youth, is the improvement of infrastructure, facilitation and support services for lower income and poor groups to do business; to be included in the thriving enterprise culture of Kenyans.

In this respect, the improvement and construction of markets is a major priority. Most market traders are mostly low-income earners who venture into micro enterprise activities. This economic activity plays an important role in terms of employment creation and delivery of urban services, accounting for about 60% of the working population and 20% of GDP. Markets also serve as alternative trading centres for hawkers, offer a wide variety of choices of goods, effectively lowering the prices of common goods and are more conveniently located to traders and buyers than formal stores.

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Nairobi is now managed under 3 zones, Eastern, Western and Nairobi CBD. Each region will have a Market Head reporting to the Director in charge of a group of markets in the given zone. These individuals will not only provide oversight in the markets but also champion development.

To improve on the quality of the markets, different projects have been put in place to provide an acceptable trading environment free of pollution, degradation and destruction as pertains to environmental management but also to enhance their management systems.

We are also working on expanding market development. New markets earmarked for immediate construction starting this year include Jogoo Road, Karindini, Dagoretti and Kangemi Markets largely to be funded under the NaMSIP Project of the World Bank.

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members,Our industry sector includes 454 large manufacturing businesses; they deal in diverse products ranging from food and beverages to transport equipment and employ a large number of unskilled workers. They add great value and produce world-class quality products.

There are also several clusters of informal light manufacturing like fabrication and repair of metal products. Such informal businesses generate job opportunities and some may grow to become formal enterprises. On the other hand, the elaborate level of their products is not yet very high in general, and they have become contributors to environmental pollution.

To ensure the growth of our industries, our County Government last year organized The Governor’s Roundtable meeting in conjunction with the Kenya Association of Manufacturers. Over 100 business owners and manufacturers attended this important Forum. The results are being

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studied with a view to crafting a comprehensive County Programme for private sector development, including improving the Business Climate.

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members,The cooperative development is also one of the areas of focus to ensure the enhancement of the registrations of new SACCOs as well as reviving dormant ones. We are now working towards legislation to streamline the Matatu SACCO’s and to enhance visibility of SACCO’s through marketing.

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members,The biggest Nairobi business in terms of foreign exchange is unquestionably tourism. It brings in around U$1 billion a year. Nairobi’s relative proximity to many tourist attractions both in Kenya and East Africa makes it an asset of great importance. Nairobi is one of the few cities in the world with a national park within its boundaries, making it a prime tourist destination as well.

Our County participated in the Magical Kenya Travel Expo tourism fair organized by the Kenya Tourism Board last October 2013 at the KICC. The Expo brought together travel agents, tour operators, hoteliers and trade media from Kenya’s key tourism source markets including the Americas, Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East.As a County, we also supported the Safaricom Sevens for the first time as the host City. The main aim of the continued support of this initiative is to get the tournament into the International Rugby Board Sevens World Circuit thereby boosting Nairobi as one of the must visit destinations to watch top flight 7’s Rugby.

We also supported the Standard Chartered Marathon, which attracted over 22,000 participants of which 1000 were elite runners. A major aspiration is to get the event on the world circuit further enhancing our attractiveness as a destination.

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Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members,In regard to Agriculture, Livestock Development and Fisheries, in 2013, the total value of the horticultural produce amounted to almost Ksh 149 million from a total value of 5,914 metric tons of horticultural produce. The value of the livestock sector in Nairobi was estimated at above Ksh. 18 billion. Live animal production is limited due to land use and tenure systems in the County. Dairy cattle, poultry, quail and fish are the major animals reared.

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members,Our main objective for the Agriculture sector is to promote and regulate sustainable agricultural sector development to improve food security and income generation in the Nairobi urban and peri-urban communities. will be achieved through soil fertility management, value addition of crop produce, field trainings and exhibitions, crop diseases and pests surveillance, farmers’ group trainings and farm visits, demonstrations, promotion of intensive farming technologies, and agricultural information sourcing.

Specific programs to address the problem of food safety and nutrition and to improve the marketing of processed and unprocessed milk are under way. For example, the County is planning to install milk dispensers in the sub counties and set aside land to serve as holding grounds for livestock before slaughtering and export.

The County is also planning to establish 17 greenhouses for each sub-county to serve for outdoor farming activities as well as training centres for youth. Nearly two hundred moist beds and 544 multi storey gardens will be set in densely populated areas to tackle the problem of food insecurity. A water pan will be constructed at Langata Sub County to serve the women’s prison and neighbouring schools and community.

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All the policy interventions need a legal framework to implement and therefore there is a Bill known as the Nairobi County Urban Agriculture promotion and regulation Bill to be introduced to the County Assembly.The purpose of this Bill is to encourage and regulate agriculture as an activity conducive to food security and wellbeing of the population, employment opportunities, economic development, health and environmental sustainability of the County.

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members,It is imperative to note that technology is an important enabler in achieving the County’s transformative objectives anchored on the seven key pillars of service delivery. Towards this end, my Government has partnered with the ICT Authority to initiate the Nairobi City County ICT Transformation Project. Major projects are lined up as part of the transformation of the operations of the County.

The procurement process for the e-payment solution, data centre and network infrastructure, web portal and e-mail messaging solution are already under way. We expect the same to be finalized by the end of this month and thereafter implementation to commence. This transformation programme is expected to cost between US$ 39 million to 55 million over a 2-year period, with the return on investment being a County that is progressive and responsive to citizen service delivery needs.

The Constitution of Kenya provides that Counties have to be answerable to the citizens they serve, who are entitled to information about projects within their county. My Government is cognisant of this requirement and we have moved to identify and engage a communications consultant to fill the existing communications gap and keep Nairobi residents informed. It is expected that this will cultivate mutual understanding between the County Government and the resident to foster an environment of cooperation and support that is required for the County to succeed.

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We also intend to out up a County TV and FM station, as a platform for us to effectively interact with the public on matters that concern them. Resources have been set aside for this purpose and we hope to have this project in motion by the end of the current financial year.

In May last year, we instituted a rebranding exercise in which we engaged the public in a logo design completion. As a result, we now have a new County Logo which will be launched for use in the coming month. This rebranding will not just be a cosmetic exercise but will be the beginning of a new way of service delivery that is effective, efficient and participatory.

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members,An efficient Public Service, together with a modern Human Resource complement and system is essential for running an effective, resilient County Government as well as efficient delivery of services. The County is in the process of crafting a Strategic Plan for the Year 2014-2019 and beyond. An important part of the plan will be the County institutional and organizational structures; including a review of HR Policy and its implementation program.This will include a monitoring and evaluation methodology for the continuous assessment of performance in administration and delivery of services, including efficient and ethical management practices. The current County work force stands, at 14,493 which comprises of 10,984 staff absorbed from the defunct City Council, 3,348 from the devolved functions, 140 state officers and 21 members of the Board and the Governor’s staff.In order to make the County staff viable, some of the rationalization measures that we are employing to ensure efficiency and effectiveness include culture and behaviour change among the staff members for which we have identified change management champions to aid in the process. We are also looking at County staff organization which we intend to do through cut back management approach, intra and inter-sectoral

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deployment, assimilation management, a move from hierarchical type of organizational structures to more flexible and professionally oriented structures, decentralization of functions to sub-counties, wards and villages as operational levels, privatization and commercialization of a number of functions currently performed by the County as well as unification and consolidation of similar functions currently performed under different departments. Additionally, we are looking at training and capacity building with a view to moving from supply to demand driven training, which will ensure that organizational and not individual needs are met. We are also looking at performance management through enhancement of target setting in sectoral/departmental operations, making greater use of performance appraisal techniques to identify strengths and weaknesses of individual contribution to overall objectives.

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, Nairobi City County generates around 68% of revenues from own-sources with the remainder of the budget from grants. From a recent study commissioned by the World Bank, the key revenue sources for the County are land/property rates; parking fees; Single Business Permits; signage permits; health licenses for food handlers; fire services permits and hygiene certificate for premises.

Accounting for 31% of all Own-Source Revenues (OSR), land rates are the single biggest contributor to and the most important element of the county’s income base. This is followed by lease income (17% of OSR) and single business permits (16% of OSR). Other revenues constitute approximately 25% of the total own-source income and are an aggregation of several minor revenue sources.

A number of issues and challenges presently face the County in revenue generation and collection. These are being carefully analysed, and solutions are being instituted, especially through IT applications which are the tools of business in the modern era.

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In the meantime, aggressive campaigns on revenues collections have led to the increases in month on month revenues at the County, from Kshs 465 million in July 2013 to Kshs 754 million in December 2013. The County is further streamlining collection and implementing accountability measures in accordance with existing financial regulations and prudent management practices. Automation of revenue collection is underway and is expected to be finalised by the first half of this year.

Our Finance Act 2013 has almost been fully implemented and I am grateful to the Honourable Members of the County Assembly for this, including the contested new parking fees which we started to levy in the past week.

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members,My government has registered impressive progress on our legislative mandate. According to article 183 (2) of the Constitution, the County Executive has the responsibility, and indeed the power, to propose legislation to the County Assembly for enactment. We have, pursuant to that mandate, proposed to the Assembly Bills which have been enacted into Acts of the Assembly. These include:

The Appropriation Act, 2013; The Finance Act; The Provisional Collection of Revenue Act, 2013; The Tax Waivers Administration Act, 2013; and The Flags and other symbols Act, 2013.

We have proposed and are currently awaiting the enactment by the Assembly of the following Bills:

The Alcoholic Drinks Control and Licensing Bill; and The Betting and Lotteries Bill.

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members,

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We are at the advanced stage of preparation and will soon be submitting the following Bills for the assembly’s consideration in the first quarter of this year.

The Urban Agriculture Promotion and Regulation Bill; The Rating Bill; The Valuation for Rating Bill; The Regularisation of Developments Bill; and The Urban Transport Bill. Solid Waste Management Bill

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members,Last week I signed into law the Ward Development Fund Bill. This legislation will ensure the necessary framework for taking development to the grassroots. It will significantly improve the livelihood of our people. I ask for your collaboration in implementing this important legislation.

In order to arrest the bad situation that existed in the legal services delivery in the County, I appointed a Task Force to advise my government on the way forward with respect to the thousands of legal cases that were lodged against the defunct City Council of Nairobi.

I have since received their preliminary report and when they finish their work, we shall be able to implement a comprehensive set of proposals that will enhance the delivery of legal services to the County.

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members,In conclusion, I should reiterate that Nairobi City County is in a unique position. It is the seat of our National Government, is by far Kenya’s largest urban centre (employing 45% of all of Kenyans urbanites and accounting for nearly 60% of the National GDP) and is the national and regional hub. If Nairobi succeeds, Kenya succeeds. It is therefore critical that we all work together to enhance our resilience by strengthening our systems, structures and capacity that will allow for dynamic, efficient and

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effective services to Nairobians, empowering citizens to live better, happier and cleaner lives.

Hon. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, I thank you. God Bless you, God Bless Nairobi City County, God Bless Kenya.

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