Sonko apologizes to Nairobi residents over poor drainage

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A car submerged in water after heavy rains hit Nairobi. PHOTO: COURTESY.

Nairobi, KENYA: Nairobi governor Mike Sonko has apologized for the inconvenience caused to Nairobi residents who have been severely affected by the rain downpour and poor drainage.

Sonko through his Facebook page said that it was very unfortunate that some sh. 10 billion set aside by the previous administration for unblocking the drainage system did not go to the intended use, but ended up in the pockets of some unscrupulous characters.

Here is the governor’s full statement:

“My dear people of Nairobi, my heart goes out to all of you who have been forced to bear the dire conditions brought about heavy rains pounding in our region.

It is indeed sad that all over the Country the situation is similar and Kenyans have been forced to deal with damage, floods, road snarl-ups and even death.

Rains are supposed to be a blessing and not a curse. Towards this end, my government has hit the ground running to mitigate against the adverse effects we have seen since the rains started.

As a start, I have today directed the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company to hasten the process of unlocking the drainage system all over the County.

We all know that the main problem is poor drainage and once we fix this the city residents will not have to bear the brunt as they have continued to do.

In the same vein, I am shocked that some sh10 billion set aside by the previous administration for unblocking the drainage system did not go to the intended use but ended up in the pockets of some unscrupulous characters.

I am putting them on notice that these monies must be recovered through sweat and toil and put into good use for Nairobi residents.

As my long term plan, I will be exploring ways of how we can harvest this water and put to use when the dry season- which is sure to follow soon- catches up with us.

It is indeed heart wrenching that we leave all this water to go to waste yet we can store it and with good treatment we can have it for our domestic use.

Meanwhile my emergency teams are forever ready on a 24 hour stand by alert to serve you in case the situation deteriorates.
Thank you”

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