Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja is set to sign a partnership with the national government in an effort to improve service provision in the capital.
This follows President William Ruto’s announcement of a plan to restore the image of the city by tackling waste management challenges, improving roads and installing street lighting.
A heap of waste dumped on a road in Eastleigh, Nairobi in this photo taken on July 23, 2025.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation
“Nairobi cannot continue to be the city in filth,” the president said on Sunday.
The initiative, which will involve the private sector, comes amid growing concerns over poor sanitation, pollution, drainage and choking traffic jams.
Clean-up of the city, the President said, is already underway, involving thousands of young people working on the Nairobi River Regeneration Project. On infrastructure, the president pledged that all roads in the capital will be tarmacked.
“We must not have mud along our roads. This city will have street lights so that we make sure that Nairobi is clean, becomes motorable and a city in the light, not in darkness. I have committed that the national government will provide resources,” he said.
According to Mr Sakaja, Dr Ruto’s plan is a national-private sector partnership purely focused on development.
Garbage dumped along Juja Road, Nairobi in this photo taken on July 23, 2025.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation
“For example, after cleaning the city and taking the garbage to Dandora, we are partnering with a Chinese company to produce 45 megawatts of power,” the governor said.
The president’s announcement elicited mixed reactions among Nairobi leaders, with some claiming that the partnership is an indictment of Mr Sakaja’s administration.
Kileleshwa Ward Rep Robert Alai said that while the President was interested in helping Nairobi residents, his approach may not yield much.
“The problems in Nairobi is the incompetence of the governor. The ... governor cannot bring services, he cannot talk with the corporates, he cannot talk to the private sector,” Mr Alai said.
“For Nairobi to attract investors, and to have good development, it has to be clean and attractive,” Mr Aladwa said.
Uncollected garbage and stagnant water in Pipeline Estate, Nairobi County in this photo taken on July 27, 2025.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation
His Embakasi Central counterpart, Benjamin Gathiru, said that he will support any move that will help the residents, but disagreed with the move to give City Hall more funds.
“Nairobi County is receiving the largest share from the County Allocation Revenue. It is just that the money is being stolen by diverting it to pay lawyers and the companies that are said to be collecting garbage, yet we still have a problem with uncollected garbage,” Mr Gathiru said. He added that Mr Sakaja’s administration should be made to account for what it already receives.
