[Image]If it was supposed to be a curtain raiser for the main event, the televised debate for the tier-two candidates for Nairobi Governor, those with less than five percent in recent opinion polls, was rather underwhelming.From the line-up of Ms Esther Waringa (Independent), Mr Harman Singh Grewal (Safina), Ms Nancy Mwadime (Usawa kwa Wote) and Mr Kenneth Nyamwamu (United Progressive Alliance) none offered really clear insights on the problem facing Nairobi, or offered clear solutions.Of the four it was probably only Mr Grewal who stood out, while the rest appeared quite clueless.RELATEDTifa poll: Raila leads as Ruto narrows gapPolitics 3 hours agoSakaja turns up late for the big debatePolitics 3 hours agoThey however suffered being given only 90 seconds to answer each question, constantly being cut off midstream as they tried to expound on their plans.Three candidates, Denise Kodhe (Liberal Democratic Party), Esther Kagure (Independent) and Cleophas Kiio Mutua (Ford Kenya) skipped the debate.[Image]Nairobi gubernatorial candidates Polycarp Igathe of Jubilee party and Johnson Sakaja of UDA party during second tier of the Nairobi Gubernatorial Debate held at Catholic university of Eastern Africa (CUEA) on July 11, 2022.Jeff Angote | Nation Media GroupThe discussion set the bar low for the debate following immediately afterwards of the two leading candidates, which started with a damper when opinion poll favourite Johnson Sakaja of the United Democratic Alliance/Kenya Kwanza failed to take to the stage at the beginning.That left Polycarp Igathe of Jubilee Party/Azimio la Umoja Coalition to start as a solo debater, but even being on his own was not a walkover as he had to undergo tough grilling by from moderators Zubeida Koome of KTN and Mark Masai of NTV.The first issue was the that his resilience had been questioned on the fact that he had resigned as Deputy Governor just months into service in the chaotic administration of Governor Mike Sonko.He had a clever answer; that he could not in good conscience continue earning a salary for work not done as Governor Sonko had left him idle.That response was probably a sly dig at Deputy President William Ruto, the Kenya Kwanza presidential candidate, who over the past two years has complained that he has been shut of government by President Uhuru Kenyatta and therefore disowns all failures of the Jubilee government, but rejected challenges to resign. [Image]Igathe: Sakaja is whetting his appetite to grab Nairobians' homesThe Nairobi debate was important not just because the capital city is the seat of government and generates 60 per cent of Kenya’s GDP, but also because the race for governor is a showdown by proxy between the two main presidential candidates, Dr Ruto on the Kenya Kwanza alliance and former prime Minister Raila Odinga of Azimio.Indeed the time for a showdown came when Mr Sakaja sauntered onto the stage just as Mr Igathe was lauding Mr Odinga.Asked why he was late, Mr Sakaja replied that he had to give space for an opponent accustomed to being pushed to the front, a dig at Mr Igathe whose nomination as the Azimio candidate was seen as pushed by President Kenyatta and a wealthy central Kenya business elite, as was his selection as the mercurial Mr Sonko’s running mate ion 2017.From the word go Mr Sakaja also had to face the hard questions over the contested university degree from Team University in Uganda that almost had him struck of the ballot.[Image]Sakaja: Igathe ran away from Nairobians to go live the lifeMr Sakaja insisted that he indeed graduated from Team University, attributing his woes to powerful forces in government determined to block his candidacy.Things got testy when Mr Igathe described Mr Sakaja as a charlatan and liar who would divert Nairobi money to private hands, even going to the extent of questioning his identity.The latter responded by accusing his opponent of lack of integrity by surrendering up when the going got tough in Nairobi, and then also faced accusations that failed to vote for Governor Sonko’s impeachment.It was not until Mr Igathe said ‘don’t kick a dog when its down’ in reference to Mr Sakaja, that the moderators felt constrained to intervene and caution against abusive words.Still the personalised exchanges continued, leaving little room for more serious debate on the really important issues around the running of the capital city within the first half of the debate.The second half of the debate provided more opportunity for Mr Igathe and Mr Sakaja to offer ore insights on their plans for major problems such as governance, revenue collection, corruption, housing, water, and garbage collection.On Governance, Mr Igathe voiced his support for the Nairobi Metropolitan Services led by Kenya Defense Forces General Mohammed Baddi, appointed by President Kenyatta to take over key functions form the elected government prior to Governor Sakaja’s impeachment.[Image]Nairobi gubernatorial debate: Sakaja, Igathe face off[Image]The auditorium at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Nairobi where the 2022 presidential debate will be held.Collins Omulo | Nation Media GroupMr Sakaja differed, describing Mr Igathe’s position as akin to a man praising his estranged wife’s lover. In his opinion Gen Baddi would never have been appointed had Mr Igathe not abandoned his post, and the city, to Mr Sonko’s mismanagement. He reminded his opponent that he would have taken over as governor, and implemented his plans, had he not quit.Mr Igathe pledged within the first 100 days to decentralize services, expressing surprise that a waiter working in Dandora had to travel all the way to City Hall for a food handlers license.He also pledged to create a government fit for services, with clear responsibilities for the governor, deputy governor and cabinet . He pledged to sort out issues around garbage collection, building and maintenance of pedestrian walkways, building and maintaining markets, and motivating employees.Mr Sakaja agreed on decentralisation, pledging to divide Nairobi into five semi-autonomous boroughs responsible for services. He also promised to implement Standing Orders for the City Inspectorate so it can operate within clear guidelines and not just be a force for harassing hawkers, and remove the multiple license requirements for business so that everything is covered under one permit.He however cautioned that solutions do not lie on quick fixes of 100-day pledges, saying that he is putting in place five and ten year plans. He couldn’t resist a jab at Mr Igathe by pledging he woiuld not quit within 100 days.On water, Mr Igathe exposed himself by revealing that he had only recently learnt while on a campaign tour in Ruai that some people in Nairobi still use donkey carts to transport water. That opened the door for Mr Sakaja to take a dig at his ignorance of city realities.He anyway to work fast to increase water available in Nairobi by ensuring completion of a link to the Northern Collector Tunnel which should increase supply form some 500 million to 600 million cubic litres, as well as develop other water sources within and in neighbouring counties, including boreholes and dams. He concluded by noting that “dams are not for eating”, a clear dig at Dr Ruto whose allies have been mentioned adversely corruption around the stalled Kimwerer and Arror dams in the Rift Valley.Mr Sakaja was in agreement that water supply needs to be increased, putting the actual demand at over 800 million cubic litres against a supply of 500 million.He proved himself a master of facts on the Nairobi water supply situation, the present sources and opportunities for expansions. He also promised that use of private water bowsers to supply water in Nairobi will come to an end.When Mr Igathe expressed delight that Azimio will have Ms Martha Karua as Deputy President with her record of putting in place the modern water management structures when she served as minister for water in President Mwai Kibaki’s government. That prompted Mr Sakaja to retort that Nairobians would be electing him, not Martha or Raila, challenging him to stop hiding behind the Azimio principals when he has no answers.On housing Mr Sakaja said that his focus will be on partnering with the private sector to take the lead in housing development, saying that the county government will not be in the business of building houses.To which Mr Igathe responded that his opponent want to grab existing public housing schemes by handing them over to private businesses. Mr Sakaja reminded him that he played a key role in representing residents of Majengo Estate when the county government wanted to demolish their low cost houses and build instead high rise apartments blocks that the slum residents could not afford.I[Image]Sakaja: Igathe ran away from Nairobians to go live the lifen the exchanges, none of the two candidates remembered that a model for affordable housing development already exists in the expansive housing estates put up by the city government mostly in the Eastlands suburbs. Some remain under ownership of the County or the National Housing Corporation, while others such as Buru Buru and Umoja Estates were passed on to private owners and friendly rental purchase schemes.All in the debate provides Nairobi residents to get for the first time a clear picture of those canvassing to be elected governor, hear their development plans and gauge their temperaments in a managed environment away from the heady atmosphere of campaign rallies.It should set the stage for the eagerly awaited debates for presidential and deputy presidential candidates, having shown that there is nothing to gain in a candidate passing up the opportunity to showcase what he has to offer. BY DAILY NATION
posted by Breaking Kenya news at 10:48 on 12 Jul 2022
"Uppercut: How Sakaja-Igathe dises overshadowed issues affecting Nairobi"
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