World Bank quits Nairobi traffic marshalls deal

A traffic marshall and a police officer control vehicles along Uhuru Highway. World Bank has pulled out of a deal to fund the employment of 1,000 traffic marshalls in Nairobi, leaving City Hall to meet an additional wage bill of Sh400 million. Photo/FILE 

In Summary

• Thursday, the World Bank said the split with City Hall was amicable and there was no politics involved.
• The traffic marshalls replaced police in manning city streets, especially in the Central Business District, getting a boost from cameras mounted on specific road junctions.
• Nairobi has 11,000 workers and will spend Sh13.7 billion in wages against expected revenues of Sh26.3 billion in the fiscal year starting July.

By KIARIE NJOROGE
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The World Bank has pulled out of a deal to fund the employment of 1,000 traffic marshalls in Nairobi, leaving City Hall to meet an additional wage bill of Sh400 million.

City Hall’s Budget committee says the World Bank dropped the plan following political pressure, adding that Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko and the police expressed reservations about deployment of the officers in the streets.

This forced Nairobi to revise its budget last week to accommodate the marshalls’ salaries, which were not included in spending estimates released by the Evans Kidero-led government in May.

This is set to add pressure to the City Hall’s wage bill as Nairobi struggles to rein in salaries to free up cash for spending on items like health services, roads and water.

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