Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has said the Government will ramp up efforts to clean Nairobi River in bid to restore it after years of neglect.
Speaking on Thursday when he met representatives of 25 United Nations agencies at his office, the DP said the Kenya Kwanza administration is keen on ensuring the river that cuts through the capital city is clean.
“We are working on the Nairobi River Commission. We are putting up a team with terms of reference. By next week, that Commission will be gazetted. It is a huge undertaking in matters of cleaning the river and settlement because people have to be relocated, but have to be given alternative sources of livelihood,” he said.
He urged the UN agencies to work with the Government to register the success of the planned exercise.
“We will need the support of the UN family- UNEP, Habitat and others. We want your agencies to be involved in the Nairobi River Commission. We will be asking for your partnership to restore the river,” said the DP.
The agencies under the new United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework Kenya 2022-2026 expressed their readiness to partner with the Kenya Kwanza administration in implementation of 15 programmes in effort to Leave No-One Behind (LNOB).
Among other groups, the programmes target children, the youth, women, people living in arid and semi-arid areas and urban informal settlements.
The DP said the Government’s doors were open to all stakeholders willing to work with them in implementing the Kenya Kwanza Plan.
Further, he welcomed their support in the implementation of the Hustlers’ Fund set to be launched early next month.
“The Hustlers Fund will give the hustlers the opportunity to realize their dreams by making credit affordable with reasonable interest,” he noted.
He also welcomed their hand in the fight against effects of climate change citing the biting drought that has severely affected over 4 million Kenyans.
He said the main objective was to move away from rain-fed agriculture to irrigation to avert similar food shortages linked to the drought in the future.
“We will engage with our partners to look for long term solutions to the effects of climate change,” he said.
The DP also assured the partners of the administration’s keenness to ensure adequate representation of women and other marginalized groups in government.
The representatives committed to work with the Government to realise its development agenda.
