Waititu and Kidero on their wealth and plans for Nairobi

SHARE BOOKMARKPRINTRATING

By JULIUS SIGEI and BILLY MUIRURI
Posted  Friday, January 25  2013 at  23:17

IN SUMMARY

• It has been billed as the battle of the populist versus the elitist, but as Saturday Nation writers JULIUS SIGEI and BILLY MUIRURI found out, Mr Ferdinand Waititu of Jubilee and Dr Evans Kidero of Cord are not strange bedfellows.

SHARE THIS STORY

  

 0
inShare

WAITITU

Question: How do you plan to solve problems facing city residents if elected governor?

Waititu: For security, I will strive to light up every low-income estate, make the roads accessible and increase security personnel. Crime happens in the cover of darkness and bad roads make it hard to answer distress calls.

Surveillance by police deters crime. I wish to start a county youth fund and the county men fund to help the jobless start up businesses. There are great opportunities for small businesses but the youth have no capital. Some can even start businesses with Sh2,000.

You often tell your supporters that you are no longer a poor man. Just how wealthy are you?

I’m certainly not a poor man. I can say I am comfortably managing my affairs. I cannot say my worth in public. Please spare me this one. It is sensitive.

You have made land grabbing one of your pet subjects. Do you own a piece of land you did not pay for?

My critics can level all manner of accusations against me, but certainly not land grabbing. I will dare anyone with evidence that I grabbed any land to come forward. Just produce the documents. It is that easy. I have not grabbed any land. I have paid for all the land I own.

You are seen as a governor of the poor. How do you plan to win over the middle class?

If I improve standards of living for the poor, crime will go down. This will create a better environment to do business and attract investors.

The poor are regarded a nuisance to the middle class. Therefore, you have to eradicate this nuisance so that everybody can do their work peacefully. That way the middle class will also be comfortable to unleash their potential.

You are not the sophisticated tuxedo-wearing champagne-popping city type. How will you manage interaction with ambassadors, visiting dignitaries and other county guests?

I am a simple man. But I will dress as per the occasion. I do not like suits but I have worn them when in Parliament. Certainly, I will wear them more. I am aware I will have to change my style quite a bit.

What do you consider as Nairobi’s top three problems?

I would say security, corruption in public offices and unemployment. Security goes down to personal safety when leaving the shops to your house and safety of your belongings. Corruption has made the public lose faith in government officers.

It has affected delivery of services to the people. That is why sometimes Nairobians take the law into their own hands and sort out their problems in the streets. Thirdly many youths have no jobs and the cost of living keeps going up.
How do you plan to handle tribalism?

Tribalism is a reality not only in Nairobi but in Kenya. Due to poverty, people tend to find some security in one of their own. My county government will give jobs to the best-qualified person. I’m sure if the best man works, the benefits will trickle down to all.

How do you intend to handle the hawker problem?

No city can do without hawkers. London and New York also have hawkers. The difference is that their hawkers are organised. I plan to repossess all grabbed markets such as Mwariro near Kariokor, Eastleigh and Ngara markets.

Many of the hawkers you see were chased from there. I also plan to build an Industrial park where small-scale traders can sell their wares. There is enough land for this.

How will you deal with the matatu menace?

The only problem with matatus is that the business is treated as illegal. I will ensure it is regulated in a way that those who work do not have to pay bribes. Corruption between police and matatu men must end.

We shall implement several laws that will reform the industry. We shall see bigger buses because they are cheaper to maintain and reduce congestion on our roads. We shall make public transport attractive for the middle class.

Do you consider prostitution a problem?

It is a big problem but we cannot demonise them. Although the numbers keep fluctuating, my county government will carry an audit and identify them for assistance to set up more decent businesses.

--------------------------------

KIDERO

Question: What do you consider as Nairobi’s top three problems?

Kidero: I would say hygiene, education and security. Nairobi’s day population of about five million and night population of 3.5 million relies on a water capacity of 534,000 cc.

Water in the slums costs 20 times more than in other estates, making it the most expensive commodity there, even more than food. The solution is to take water there for free or at affordable prices. Currently Nairobi City Council does not cover most of these areas.

On education, there are 198 informal schools which we need to bring to the mainstream system so that the standards can be harmonised.

Unemployment and insecurity are a big problem. Eight out of 10 people in Nairobi are unemployed. This has health implications as the unemployed can’t have insurance. Even as we create more jobs, we shall offer children below five years free medical health.

Some parts of the city have been zoned into ethnic fiefdoms. How will you open the city up to all Kenyans?

The best way to weed out tribalism is by ensuring that meritocracy and competence prevails in employment while ensuring that equity is practised to mirror the ethnic numbers.

Hawkers are a problem in Nairobi. How do you propose to deal with them?

Hawkers are an asset and not a liability to the development of Nairobi. Hawking is a world-wide phenomenon. We shall begin to actualise our dream of a 24-hour economy with them. We simply need to organise them, by for instance closing some streets, some days.

We also have limitless capacity if we build our markets upwards instead of the current horizontal mentality. This way we can accommodate all our hawkers in the current market space.

Can you give a realistic plan on how to deal with the matatu menace in the city?
Matatus are filling a void in the city transport. We shall bring high-volume mass transport buses and light trains as has been done in such cities as Dar es Salaam and Addis Ababa. We shall begin by making the Syokimau train affordable to many and revamping the Thika-Nairobi route and the Nairobi-Limuru route.

Do you consider prostitution a problem?

It is a big problem but there would be no trade if there were no takers. It is illegal and we can’t tax it. Instead we shall create jobs in several sectors to an extent that there wouldn’t be an excuse for them to do it out of desperation.

You are reputedly wealthy. Can you account for your wealth.

I am not fabulously wealthy as claimed. But I have also held pretty senior jobs for a long time, having become managing director at the age of 29. I am also in the real estate business. Whatever I have, I have worked for it.

You have been accused of using your position at Mumias Sugar Company to irregularly sell farmers’ land.

I don’t know how I can put this simply so as to put this matter to rest once and for all. Companies borrow money. Mumias Sugar did so to secure the company by borrowing Sh55 million and Busia Sugar went under. It was not my fault. But that is a matter for the company and its management now.

Is it true that you profited from artificial sugar shortage?

That is preposterous. I have never been in the sugar business. It would have been a clear conflict of interest.

Sugar prices, like other commodities in a free market economy, is a function of demand and supply. Kenya is a net importer of sugar and the situation in the world market would definitely be reflected on the local market.

During my tenure at Mumias, I worked closely with the Kenya Sugar Board and the Kenya Revenue Authority to stamp out illegal imports and evasion of sugar duty. My career at Mumias speaks for itself.

I pushed cane prices from Sh1,450 to 4,150 by the time I left and farmers did not want me to leave.