NAIROBI, Kenya — Johnson Sakaja has revealed that the Nairobi City County Government would require about Sh25 billion to overhaul the capital’s ageing drainage infrastructure and at least Sh60 billion annually to run the city effectively.
Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV on Sunday, the governor said the city’s drainage system was designed decades ago for a much smaller population and can no longer cope with the current level of rainfall and urban growth.
“Overhauling the city’s drainage system will cost about Sh25 billion, which is why cooperation with the national government is necessary. Correcting decades of planning mistakes will require tough decisions,” Sakaja said.
The governor described the recent floods affecting Nairobi and other regions as a national disaster, warning against politicising the crisis while lives continue to be lost.
“This is a national disaster. Nearly half of the deaths have occurred in other parts of the country as well, and those lives matter too,” he said.
He criticised leaders who, he said, were using the tragedy for political advantage instead of focusing on solutions.
“It is a shame that some leaders in this city are finger-pointing and leveraging this tragedy for political gain. We should stop politicising natural calamities and instead focus on a collective response,” Sakaja said.
According to the governor, Nairobi faces a generational infrastructure deficit because many roads, drainage systems and development regulations were designed for a city of about 500,000 residents, far below the current metropolitan population.
“There is no quick fix for this city,” he said. “We are dealing with planning systems and infrastructure designed for a much smaller city.”
Sakaja defended the county government’s controversial relocation of residents living along the Nairobi River, arguing that the move helped prevent greater loss of life during recent flooding.
“If we had not relocated people from the Nairobi River, the number of lives lost during the floods would have been much higher,” he said.
The county government has deployed 4,500 members of the Green Army programme to clear drainage systems daily. However, Sakaja warned that illegal dumping and poor waste disposal continue to undermine the effort.
“Who dumps in those drains? Who is littering in those drains? We have provided bins. There is a responsibility all of us must bear,” he said.
The governor also accused some politicians of encouraging residents in flood-prone areas, such as Grogan garages to resist relocation orders.
“My friends in Grogan were really affected, but they know they were supposed to move. Yet some politicians are telling people not to move when they need to move,” he said.
Sakaja said his administration would continue implementing necessary reforms regardless of political consequences.
“I will just close my ears and do what must be done for this city; I do not care about the political ramifications,” he said.
He also noted that legislation allowing Nairobi to access additional funding has existed for more than 13 years, but previous administrations had not fully utilised it.
Reflecting on the city’s long history with flooding, Sakaja recalled being stranded during the 1997 El Niño rains, describing the problem as a recurring challenge caused by decades of poor planning.
The governor said Nairobi’s recovery will require closer collaboration between the county and national governments, especially on infrastructure that falls under national jurisdiction.
“You must have a collaborative effort for the city; there is no other formula,” he said.
