A Senate committee has backed the Sh80 billion cooperation agreement signed last week with the national government, giving Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja a greenlight to proceed with the deal.
The Senate Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations said Nairobi is not an ordinary county but a capital city that needs special attention, especially on matters of funding.
The committee chairperson, Mohamed Abass, said they are in support of the deal but asked the governor to ensure emerging questions regarding the agreement are incorporated in the final document.
Governor Sakaja was appearing before the committee on Thursday to answer questions from senators seeking clarity on the intent, legality and oversight of the cooperation agreement.
“Continue with the agreement but fine tune it by taking into consideration issues members have raised. Nairobi is not an ordinary county. It needs extra money,” said Senator Abass.
“This committee will stand with you to ensure what you want achieved in the city is realised. You have all the rights to cooperate with the national government,” added the Wajir senator.
Nairobi County Governor Johnson Sakaja (centre left) and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi (centre right) during the signing of a cooperation agreement between the National Government and the Nairobi City County Government at State House, Nairobi.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
The county boss told the committee that the agreement is neither unusual nor illegal, but rather a long-overdue framework grounded in law and aligned with global best practice.
He cited Section 6 of the Urban Areas and Cities Act and Article 189 of the Constitution as the legal framework that the deal is anchored on, and therefore does not amount to a transfer of functions.
The governor said Nairobi will continue running as a county while the national government will come in to provide additional resources for development programmes.
Mr Sakaja pointed out that Nairobi’s current allocation from the Exchequer is insufficient to match the demands of a fast-growing capital.
“The issue with Nairobi is resources. We must get more resources because we are currently depending on our own source revenue, which is not enough to run the city. What we get from the national government goes to paying salaries at Sh1.5 billion monthly and Sh200 million transferred to the county assembly,” said Mr Sakaja.
He told the senators that the agreement is not unusual, citing the ongoing partnership with the national government in the education sector, where President William Ruto’s administration has supported the county government with Sh1 billion for the construction of additional classrooms.
There is also the Sh50 billion Nairobi River rehabilitation programme, a project aimed at restoring the river as well as upgrading sewer lines across the city.
“All we want is a working capital and I will sign the deal again even tomorrow because this is the best thing for the city. There is no other way of dealing with Nairobi problems than this. I will defend the deal anytime,” said Governor Sakaja.
“If you are doing the right thing and your conscience is clear, don’t be afraid of being misunderstood. I am ready to stake my career on this.”
However, a section of the senators raised questions regarding the oversight framework for the cooperation, late public participation and national government officers dominating the committees steering the deal.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna argued that the agreement is fraught with legal landmines, saying it should be shelved until the pertinent issues are addressed.
He said the county government would have instead pushed for additional allocations, which are already provided for in law.
“The animal you have created is an unnecessary one. This is a misadventure similar to the Nairobi Metropolitan Services, which you promised never to entertain again,” said Mr Sifuna.
Nominated Senator Catherine Mumma argued that the way the steering and implementation committees are set up points to the national government being in charge, as the two committees are dominated by officials from President Ruto’s administration.
She observed that the agreement is too general and there is no demarcation of roles to the extent that it looks like national government officials have been incorporated to run the county government.
“The manner in which the committees are set up looks like it is the national government that is making decisions and pushing it down to the county government to implement,” said Ms Mumma.
“How do we ensure we respect the functional integrity of the county government even as we enter into such an agreement? Is it technical support they are giving? It is unclear.”
Nominated Senator Margaret Kamar said the agreement is not clear on the reporting mechanism, with the roles of the Nairobi County assembly and the Senate not clearly defined.
Marsabit Senator Mohamed Chute said the agreement is hollow on dispute resolution mechanisms, saying such a lacuna is dangerous should there be a disagreement.
“No one is saying Nairobi should not get more money but a well-structured agreement within the law is what Nairobi needs. We need to relook at the agreement and make it better,” said Kiambu Senator Karungo Thang’wa.
Nominated Senator Hezena Lemaletian wondered why public participation was not conducted before the deal was signed.
She said public participation cannot be cosmetic, where parties first sign an agreement and then go seeking views.
“It appears like the cart was put before the horse. In the event that views from public participation go against the deal, is there room to rethink the agreement?” posed Ms Lemaletian.
In his response, Governor Sakaja said funds from the national government will be overseen by the National Assembly, while the Senate will deal with county allocations.
On public participation, he said the Nairobi County Assembly is conducting the exercise across all 17 sub-counties in the city.
