DP Gachagua: Why Nairobi Rivers Commission fell short of its goals

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has revealed why the Nairobi Rivers Commission has been unable to carry out its intended activities.

During an interview on Citizen TV on Friday night, the DP said that budget constraints were the main reason for the commission's lack of progress.

"The Nairobi Rivers Commission has been under my office, but we did not get the requisite budget, so there were no activities. This lack of funding prevented the commission from initiating projects aimed at cleaning and revitalising the river," Gachagua said.

In the first Executive Order of 2023, the commission was placed under the Office of the Deputy President on January 9, 2023.

President William Ruto in December 2022 established the commission to "reclaim the rivers of Nairobi as a spine to the city's blue and green infrastructure for a better urban environment and quality of life".

The commission was expected to examine previous reports and recommendations made to reclaim the Nairobi River and adopt lessons learned in the new initiative.

Early this year, the DP requested Sh100 million from the State Department of Devolution to fund the operations of the Nairobi Rivers Commission.

The request by Gachagua was highlighted in a report by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu.

"The State Department for Devolution received an authority to incur expenditure (AIE) of Sh100,000,000 from the office of the Deputy President on May 31, 2023, for the operations of the Nairobi Rivers Commission," the report said.

Gathungu observed that the commissioners received full salaries for seven months, totalling Sh18 million.

During Friday’s interview, the DP revealed that the commission was no longer under his office as the President removed that responsibility.

"The President took over the responsibility of Nairobi River. That was a delegated function," Gachagua stated.

The DP clarified that when the head of state decides to reclaim a delegated function, there is no need for consultation.

Despite the setbacks, Gachagua acknowledged the recent relaunch of a clean-up programme for the river, which was presided over by the President.

When asked about his absence at the programme's launch in Nairobi's Korogocho area, the Deputy President said he was not aware of the event.

"I was not aware when it was taking place. But when I am invited, I always attend," Gachagua said.

He said that the President later invited him to a subsequent meeting at the Kenya School of Government with local administrative officers, including chiefs and village elders, to reinforce the clean-up initiative.

On September 12, 2024, President Ruto launched the Nairobi River Regeneration Project aimed at cleaning up the Nairobi River.

He also launched the Climate Resilience Service Programme (CRSP), a transitional employment programme aimed at fostering climate resilience by engaging the unemployed youth in the country.

Ruto said the programme will be part of the Climate WorX Mtaani which targets to recruit at least 200,000 youths from across 47 counties.

The programme will advance sustainable public projects in urban areas, emphasising improvements in infrastructure, environmental conservation, and housing.

The initial phase of the CRSP will begin in Nairobi County, specifically along the Nairobi River.

This phase will be overseen by the Nairobi Rivers Commission and will concentrate on strict environmental enforcement.

"We are going to employ 20,000 youth to work on the 42km stretch of the Nairobi River to clean and restore it," Ruto announced.