Business Daily (Nairobi)
Laila Macharia
22 April 2008
analysis
Nairobi — There is still controversy about whether or not Nairobi needed an entire ministry to itself. But now that we have the Ministry of Nairobi Metropolitan Development, we should take advantage of it to address both perennial problems and recent challenges.
The new ministry should have three goals which if accomplished will form its key performance indicators (KPI).
KPI Number One is the completion and adoption of a regional plan or 'Master Plan' as it is commonly referred to. A Nairobi Metropolitan Growth Strategy (NMGS) has already been commissioned under Vision 2030. The metropolis is to absorb all municipal councils within a radius of 30 kilometres including Kiambu, Ngong, Kikuyu, Athi River and Ruiru.
The Nairobi City Council and these others are to operate under a single authority which is to tax business and residents and allocate resources to amenities such as roads, sewers, housing and garbage collection.
It is hoped that the new ministry will dovetail with this original structure, but regardless, as already envisioned in the NMGS, the private sector and residents, as the consumers of the services, must play a central role. A multi-sectoral technical committee from the private sector had already produced a proposal for the methodology and terms of reference for the regional plan.
The second KPI should be harmonisation and capacity-building for the municipalities in the metropolis. The ministry should start by gaining a full understanding of why the current municipalities, despite being flush with cash, seem unable to deliver the services that are their raison d'etre.
This evaluation should include human resources, facilities, technology, corporate governance and resource allocation and would form the baseline for comprehensive reform. At the end of the transition period, the metro authority should be run like a private company and staffed by our best and brightest.
The final KPI is slum eradication. For this, we should take advantage of rising land prices to engage the private sector in building of new housing for the poorest in Nairobi. A creative program would pass on the costs of the building to private developers while releasing under utilised land. The Slum Rehabilitation Schemes in India are a good model to follow.
Dr Macharia writes on institutional reform, infrastructure and urban management issues.
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