Nairobi — Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has announced that Nairobi residents will access Uhuru Park free of charge, once it's opened to the public in December.
Renovations for the iconic Uhuru Park and Central Park started in September last year, under the stewardship of the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) in a bid to transform them to international park standards.
Sakaja who spoke on Tuesday during the flagging off of the World Tourism Day, said that they intend to rehabilitate all the parks across the county.
"This is just the beginning, the county is in the process of rehabilitating all the parks across the county where our people can rest and enjoy the environment," Sakaja stated.
Governor Sakaja also announced his administration's plan to repossess social places that have been grabbed and repurpose them to their initial use, where youth can exploit their talents and be creative.
He retaliated his commitment in supporting the creative economy, adding that he is in discussion with the national government with a view of zero rating music and studio equipment so as to support the creative industry in Nairobi.
"Some scrupulous people have grabbed some of the social amenities areas and we will reclaim them, improve them as well as create new ones so as to ensure that every sub-county has at least a recreational facility," he said.
NMS Director General, Lieutenant General Mohamed Badi and Governor Sakaja last month gave a sneak peek into the new-look facilities at Uhuru Park, which has been revamped using antique materials such as old buses and aircraft to give it a unique look and feel.
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Inside the park, NMS has created ice cream parlors at different points, all built using old buses and other antique materials to improve the park's aesthetics.
The new look Uhuru Park has an old aircraft converted into a modern high-end hotel.
The Park also features a modern garden with waterfronts which includes among other amenities, a plant nursery, skating park, nature trail, outdoor library, jogging and cycling tracks, maintenance yard, offices and shearer garden.
The iconic Nyayo statue and Mau Mau freedom fighters monuments have also been maintained as well as a more defined freedom corner in remembrance of Prof Wangari Maathai. A larger artificial lake has been transformed into a major waterfront with a Swahili restaurant.
Central Park on the other hand, will have an outdoor library for use by children to read and it will also be used for book launches.
The park will also have a monument to honour health workers who have lost their lives battling the Covid-19 pandemic.
