Sh40bn debt threatens to halt operations in Nairobi

 

PHOTO | DIANA NGILA | FILE Nairobi Governor-elect Evans Kidero addresses journalists at a past event.  NATION MEDIA GROUP

By NATION CORRESPONDENT

 

 

Operations of Nairobi county government could soon grind to a halt due a Sh40 billion debt.

A senior county official on Monday said the debt crisis was worrying Governor Evans Kidero, and was the reason he paid a courtesy call to President Kenyatta last Friday.

Dr Kidero’s senior political adviser Jeff Otieno said the debt had crippled the delivery of key services by the devolved government.

“The county government inherited a debt of over Sh40 billion from the defunct City Council of Nairobi and this has affected the delivery of key services because there is no money. Salaries alone gobble up to Sh640 million a month yet the monthly revenue collection stands at Sh540 million,” Mr Otieno told a devolution forum at St Teresa’s Catholic Church, Juja Road

“This is why the governor has to meet with leaders of the national government to find ways of how this debt can be written off.”

Residents of Nairobi, mainly drawn from the informal settlements, accused Dr Kidero of failing to deliver on his election pledges.

They demanded that the governor issue an injunction stopping evictions in slums.

“We are requesting the governor to stop all evictions until the Eviction and Resettlement Bill is passed,” said Muungano wa Wanavijiji president Ezekiel Rema.