Nairobi County Assembly has endorsed a cooperation agreement between City Hall and the national government, clearing the way for President William Ruto and Governor Johnson Sakaja to jointly implement projects aimed at improving services in the city.
The agreement, signed on February 17 at State House, outlines a commitment by the national government to inject Sh80 million for upgrading waste management, water distribution, and the road network across Nairobi.
The assembly’s ad hoc committee, which oversaw the implementation of the pact, presented its report on Tuesday afternoon following public participation.
It recommended an amendment to the original agreement to clearly separate projects handled by the county government from those managed by the national government. The report also directs the Steering Committee to provide the County Assembly with a detailed and itemised list of all projects under the framework.
"The submission shall include detailed project descriptions, estimated costs, funding sources, implementation timelines, and designated implementing entities in order to promote transparency, facilitate alignment with county budgetary and development frameworks and secure prior legislative awareness and effective oversight of the implementation roadmap," the report reads.
MCAs have emphasized that all projects, whether undertaken independently or jointly under the agreement, must be formally handed over to the county government upon the deal’s termination.
They also called for the inclusion of the relevant County Executive Committee members to ensure proper oversight of sector-specific projects. Nominated MCA Nasra Nanda highlighted that the agreement is lawful and transparent, unlike the previous Nairobi Metropolitan Services arrangement.
“The agreement creates a joint financing framework aligned with the public finance management framework and it seeks in particular to mobilise additional capital investment into the capital so that truly Nairobi can be positioned as a city that can compete with other leading cities," Nasra said.
Majority Leader Peter Imwatok added that funds from the cooperation agreement will not be deposited into county executive accounts but will be managed directly by the national government, with duties delegated to specific implementing entities.
While some MCAs welcomed the deal as a benefit to Nairobi residents, others criticized Governor Sakaja for failing to deliver essential services.
They argued that the intervention of the national government was necessary to address service gaps that the county leadership should have managed over the past three years. A few MCAs have reportedly begun collecting signatures to initiate impeachment proceedings against the governor.
