The Nairobi County Government is set to begin an operation on Monday targeting buildings that have not complied with a 14-day ultimatum that expires a week ago to repaint the properties.
According to Nairobi County Executive Committee Member (CEC) in charge of Health Suzanne Silantoi, the operation will include penalising non-compliant owners.
Ms Silantoi said that Governor Johnson Sakaja’s administration is committed to keeping the county clean, starting with the buildings that are in need of repainting.
“Restoring Nairobi’s image as a clean, modern African capital is paramount. This is the capital city and we must reflect that in how our buildings look,” Ms Silantoi said.
She said that on Monday, a number of inspectorate officers will be moving around to check all buildings, including those that have not been repainted.
“We issued a 14-day ultimatum, and while many have responded positively, a number are still lagging behind,” Ms Silantoi said.
The operation will cover property owners, tenants, and management agents in the main commercial zones including the Central Business District (CBD), Westlands, Upper Hill, Ngara area, Kirinyaga Road and downtown areas as well as other major shopping centres within the city.
“Non-compliant buildings risk penalties such as statutory closure or prosecution.”
The county had waived the repainting permit fees to encourage and ease the financial burden on property owners, in what Mr Sakaja said is due to the tough economic times.
The orders to repaint the buildings is anchored in the Public Health Act (Cap 242) and the Physical and Land Use Planning Act (2019), which require all buildings to meet minimum public health and maintenance standards.
Accordingly, Ms Silantoi lauded a number of property owners who have heeded the call and repainted their buildings.
She said some of the buildings which have been repainted while a good number of landowners have ignored the notice.
“Some of the buildings have not been repainted since they were constructed decades ago.”
This comes amid renewed efforts by both the national and the county government to restore the dignity of the city and put it in order.
President William Ruto and Mr Sakaja are expected to sign a national-private agreement deal this month, which will see both levels of the governments collaborating to improve services and the image of the city in several sectors.
Recently, Mr Sakaja reiterated that the deal is much-needed to address some of the pressing issues in the county, which cannot be handled by the county government alone, bearing that the Nairobi is the capital city and hosts some of the offices for international bodies such as the United Nations Habitat among others.
“Partnering with the private sector for the purpose of development is very encouraged. For example, after cleaning the city and collecting garbage taken to Dandora, we are partnering with a Chinese company to produce 45 megawatts of power. We already have an agreement with the government through the Ministry of Energy on a power sale arrangement,” Governor Sakaja said.
About the Author
