 The city of Nairobi County, Honorable Sakaja Johnson, the CSD Volition and all the other senior government officials present here, my colleagues and the general public. Mine is very simple, is to welcome the governor of the city to talk to you. But before I do that, I'd like to just make a few comments about today's event. Today's event reflects the final stage in the realization of the new government of the mandate that the people of Nairobi gave us to manage their affairs in this city. And I believe that with today's event, it is now fully incumbent upon us to drive these affairs forward and to make sure that the promises and the expectations of the people of Nairobi are met. We know and we believe that the work that has been done by the NMS has been huge. It's great. I have seen a lot of it and I believe that the work they did is excellent. It is good for our people. It is something that we needed as Nairobians. And I want to thank them very much for that piece of work. But now, it's for us, as the people running the city, along with our employees in the county, to ensure that we create systems, processes, procedures, and corporate governance structures that ensure that the citizens of Nairobi receive the service they so expect. It is our mandate. It is our expectation which must improve the service delivery in this city. We must ensure that people get what they expect from their leadership. We must ensure that we transform the city. We must go to the next level and ensure that people feel we have brought in a different leadership. With those few words, I'd like then to ask all of you to join me as we welcome the governor of Nairobi City County, His Excellency Sakage Kyozoon, to address us. Yes, Lissie. Thank you. That's Andy. Thank you very much, Deputy Governor, Major Buddy, Lieutenant General Buddy. I was told the other day I'd like to go to Twitter, Major General. Thank you so much. Waziri Ujinomalua, the Honorable Attorney General, of course, Status Controller, my good friend, Shibu Akinudia, and everybody who is here. I acknowledge your presence, a KRA, the Intergovernmental Relations Team, Ambassador Mushiri, my good friend as well, and my successor, Atungao, who now is your inaugural partner at the Guyana's Association, and everybody who is here, the people of Nairobi. Good morning. I want to say thank you. I want to say thank you to the NMS. The journey was not easy, and Waziri Ujinomalua has alluded to some of the aspects and some of the things that were happening. When I was a senator, I was involved in coming up with that solution, because Nairobi County Government at that time was unable to execute functions. My predecessor, His Excellency Governor Mike Sonko, at that time was encumbered by a court case, and you remember the ruling was that you cannot execute your functions and you had no deputy, and so we had to find a solution, and I remember spending a lot of time with the former president and the team thinking of what to do, and we came up with the deal of transfer, but I was told on the day of signing that I should not appear, because if I was in there, there would be no signing. We later learned that other forces were used to encourage the signing, other inducements. I want to confirm that this morning I have only served tea, and the one of what only general declined to take tea, I think out of fear, that there would be something I have put in, as Anteni Sano. I want to acknowledge the presence of my MCAs from Nairobi County Assembly, and I will ask one or two just to make brief remarks. I'll start with the MCA for Waidaka. All MCAs, you don't even go on to our own, please recognize the MCAs we have, they are an important part in delivering for the people, so, to our Salimia, La Pia Shagimora. Good morning everybody, your Excellency the Governor, Lieutenant General, and all protocols served. My name is Anteni Karanja, I'm serving MCA in Waidaka Ward, and serving in Nairobi County Assembly. First of all I would like to say thank you to Major General and NMS for a job well done. We have set the bar in providing services and doing projects in Nairobi in terms of quality and in terms of speed, and I want to agree with you that some of the projects would not have been possible if it was done by politicians, like ourselves. I would also like to acknowledge the Nairobi County Assembly that was also in place to provide the necessary legislation to make sure that NMS was a success, and the process of transfer of services went smoothly, so, and I also assure his Excellency the Governor that still as the Assembly, we will still be there to provide the necessary legislation and necessary support to make sure that we achieve what we want to achieve for this city. I would also like to thank you because you are helping our Governor achieve what he promised the people of Kenya and the people of Nairobi that we are going to return the services back to the city as quickly as possible. It may not have taken the one week he had given us, but it is finally here. I would also like to request the staff at NMS and at Nairobi County to make sure that this return of services is smooth, is smooth, and we are going to benefit and it's going to continue serving the people of Nairobi like we vowed or we took out of office to do, so thank you very much the people of Nairobi for electing us and for electing Governor Sakadia, as Santé Nisana. Your Excellency the Governor and all protocols of love, I thank you for giving the MCAs the opportunity to address and just say two things, one the Honourable Minister had alluded to that there is the issue of uncaring the COG into law and IGITC, maybe also to add the same way you've seen it fit for MCAs to address, that the county assemblies forum should also be part of it so that the whole engine of devolution, not one arm is left behind so that we ensure that the all systems of devolution go across board. Secondly Honourable Governor is that we are very happy that we've seen, we've lived to see this day, the issues that and all the functions taken to national government are back. We want to assure Nairobians as the MCAs one of our key roles is oversight and of all the processes, all the activities that were done we'll be very happy to work together in terms of oversighting whatever was done and being able to bring to account and bring to account for every shilling and every value for the shilling for the benefit of Moana Enchi in terms of oversight. I thank you. Thank you very much for those remarks indeed the county assembly and allow me to congratulate you for being sworn in for the MCAs, was sworn in yesterday. Walikua MCAs elect until yesterday, now they are properly constituted. Also to congratulate our new speaker, Moundrabuken Gondi and the deputy speaker Moundrabukados on the election. On top of anchoring the county assembly forum, I have been persuading my colleagues Governors at COG that we want county assemblies to be financially independent, that you can get your budget directly not through the executive and that is a process that I hope together with the Intergovernmental Relations Committee and the State Department of Evolution because it will still exist. You can make sure it happens so that the county assemblies get their funding directly for you to do oversight. I believe in oversight. I have been a legislator for the last 10 years. I know the power of representation and it is not me being oversighted as an individual. It is the county government. We need it and we will support you as you do that. Devolution is an amazing gift to the people. It was a highlight of our constitution 2010. It is a gift that has ensured that parts of this country that have never seen any development have been able to see development. We devolve fiscal responsibilities and political power. Unfortunately, as I have said, there had to be a situation in Nairobi where some of that was moved back to the national government, but today all the functions are back to the people, the people of Nairobi. The lady in Mutwini who is going to the dispensary of the hospital needs to hold to account somebody who she has voted in. So does the young man in Kayole, so does the father in Mihango. That is the power of the evolution. It is based on the principle of subsidiarity that a function is best offered at the lowest level compatible with the benefit area of that service. Of course, it is a relationship. Devolution is all about the national government or about the county government. It is about both working together. And I have been assured from very high sources and let that announcement be made by the right person that there will be a State Department of Devolution to continue with the work that has been done. It is that important. And for us in Kenyakwansa, bottom up means Devolution. You are right, Wazir Eugene. And I am very happy that you also know bottom up, you know, and that you believe in it. Wazir Eugene is my big brother and we joke a lot together. We really missed him on our side. But I am very happy to promote him. I really want to honor the NMS and the staff at NMS. You did a good job despite challenges. I know in the beginning there were a lot of challenges with this side. But I want to encourage you that we still need a lot of your work. I want to urge my staff in Nairobi City County Government and those who are coming back, that you are all now one. There is no for my NMS staff and for my country government staff. You are all staff of the Nairobi County Government and you will work together as equals. So what will happen? We will have space for everybody. I want to assure the nurses, because many of them felt that when NMS goes, that they will go home, we still need you. We need you to serve our people. Ultimately, every action we take, every activity we engage in, is focused on the people of Nairobi and are going to act in their best interest at every time. So Karibunisana to Marubisha City When I came to City Hall, I found amazing people. My first meeting was here. I was not with the directors and the chief officers of the CECs. I met the staff, around 10,000 staff of Nairobi who are the square behind there, listening to me. The first thing they say is that they have never been addressed by a governor. The second thing they say is that whenever they gather there, it is to strike, not to consult. And I told them because it's in your bottom map, I will start with them. And I opened for them suggestion boxes for the staff, where I personally open and receive the letters and I read. I want to thank you, all of those who have written, because you have told me a lot of things. But I've gotten a lot of information about the county and you will see action being taken as we move along. I want us to see ourselves as one family tasked with the gift of stewardship over the people of Nairobi. We made promises. We went to the people. I want to see all of us as partners in delivering to the people of Nairobi. Let's remember the common person in Nairobi. Nairobi is going to be great. This is Africa's capital and we must make sure it shines as a city of order, a city of dignity, a city of hope, and opportunities for all. We want to make it easier for people to do business and not to stifle their business. In fact, in the coming week, we're going to sit down with all the informal traders in Nairobi because I know now that they saw Muti, a bottom map, I mean here, they are everywhere. We will sit with them and agree on how to organize their work because all they are doing is trying to ek out a living for their people. I have said let them not be harassed, but let them be facilitated. Once we agree on the streets that the hokas are going to operate from and the timing they're going to operate from, they shall be left to operate. Then be each given a number and they will do their work. In the last one month, we've been able to try without my MCs and I'm happy they're there, without the new cabinet in Nairobi, but I want to thank those who've partnered with me. We've been able to collect more than 54,000 tons of garbage that had filled the streets. I'm sure when you walk around, you see some changes. Every day we're doing 2,100 tons and now once the MCs pass the budget, we're going to reconfigure the method with which we're going to clean the city. Nairobi must be clean, Nairobi must be sparkling. We've been able to start the recapiting of 22 roads starting with the sunken parking. We have now lit up the CBD. If you walk in the evening, you can see there's a change. The lights are on. Soon you're going to light up Ngong Road and many other of our places, especially the informal settlements. Work has begun and work is moving. I want to thank all of those we've partnered with, especially the military. And I must say, we've had this discussion with the Commander-in-Chief who's the head of state. Together with the CDF, we're going to be entering into an MOU framework where in the areas we will see the military, we will work with the military. And I will give you an example. The Central Garage has really improved. Our vehicles were everywhere in many garages. Something small was being charged with a million shavings. But with the leadership of NMS and the general body, they were able to bring it back together. We shall continue that operation. In fact, I'm glad to announce that what is to be the fueling station at Central Garage is now going to be revived within a month. Our petrol station is going to operate. And we're going to enter into agreements and buy fuel at about five shillings less than commercial rates so that we can save the people of Nairobi millions and millions of shillings. We need that efficiency. We've also agreed that we're going to do a proper tree planting exercise together with the private sector. If you go up KCC, which was my former office, and you look around the city, you see three ecological zones. There is the green side, then there is the brown side, and there's a side which is almost being a desert. We must plant trees. We must plant trees in the city. I know those outcry about the pruning of a tree down the road. I think it was pruned a bit too much. But we're going to replace. We're going to bring fully grown trees. I know together the Central Bank were bringing a lot of the counties from Malaysia that are going to line up Marambe Avenue. We're going to line up City Hallway. Let us bring back the green city under the sun that we knew as young people. When we were growing up, I grew up just two kilometers from here. The city was green. We still have Camero, connecting garbage, water was flowing. We must return Nairobi to that status and to take it above and beyond what it has been. I'm glad to report also that we're making a lot of progress on the issue of water. You know that every day the pool of Nairobi require 850 million liters of water, but we're only able to get 525.6 million liters. Together with the AFI Water Works and Nairobi Water, we've had a discussion with this excellence of the president to speed up the northern collector tunnel so that it is done before the expected date, which was next year December, so that we can add another 140 million liters of water per day and make sure that water is received by the people of Nairobi. Water is a matter of dignity. They all need to receive it. Additionally to that, we are already in discussions to continue the waste to energy plant. Dandora will not be the same again. We're going to convert our waste into energy and the MRF facilities that nobody has spoken about across the town. And our young people are the ones who are going to do that work of collecting the garbage, sorting it out in the sub counties before it is transmitted to the landfill. I think without going into much more details, let me assure the people of Nairobi. The task I have received is huge, but it is not daunting. There is grace, there is goodwill and I am a hard worker. I will wake up every single morning to serve the people of Nairobi in all the 14 functions given to us in the constitution. We are going to make Nairobi work and we'll make it work together. I need you also to play your part as we transform the city. We are capable and we are grateful that there's a lot of support that is coming to our city. It is not going to be magic. Things will not change in a day or two days. We will be patient, but you will see incremental changes as you move on home and work together on that. I want to assure those that might be worried that there might be victimization or there might be favoritism that everything we do will be based on objectivity, even if you have been stuck on the other side, come back home. If you have something to tell me, my door is always open. You will get to me, but we will serve our people with dignity and with diligence as we move along. The functions are now back. I know the subcommittees are still going to give the facts, but let us move ahead. In the next few days, possibly next week, we shall be naming our cabinet together with the deputy governor and we shall issue the advertisements for chief officer positions. Please, people of Nairobi apply. Come join us in this noble task of making Nairobi work.