Nairobi City County Governor Johson Sakaja has invited Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua for a meeting to solve the current stalemate involving city reorganisation.
The two leaders have been at loggerheads concerning removal of public service vehicles from the Nairobi CBD and banning of entertainment joints from residential areas.
As Governor Sakaja, pushes for the reforms, the DP on the hand has asked the targeted businessmen to ignore Sakaja and continue with their usual businesses.
Speaking on Inooro television on Tuesday, Governor Sakaja challenged the DP for a closed door meeting to iron out their difference over the matter instead of going public.
He further narrated that he is not trying to fight the DP given his age and position in government.
“I am not in a fight with the deputy president. I respect him as an old man and he is at a higher position than me in terms of the party,” said Sakaja in an interview with Inooro TV.
“There is a way the national government should relate with the county governments. Although I do not want to speak much about him because he is my boss, there might be somewhere we disagreed and it would be best for us to sit and discuss instead of taking them to the public.”
He went ahead to say that Nairobi County will always work with the nationalgovernment for its betterment.
“Nairobi will always have special relationship with the National government. What I have done so far is because of the president,” he said.
Earlier on, Gachagua argued Kikuyus are the ones who elected Sakaja, hence he should let them do their businesses without harassment, “I mobilized Kikuyus in Nairobi to vote for him and called him. Any decision that he makes which may affect business in Nairobi, we must first sit and discuss.”
In a quick rejoinder, Sakaja said;
“That is a very bad way of putting it. It is a lie. There is no community being targeted in all these projects and we have had meetings with SACCOs to discuss how we can have order while still supporting business,” said Sakaja.
“These people are just using this thing for political mileage. If anything, matatus from the Western region plying Waiyaki Way were the ones affected during the festive season. Why would I wake up and decide to declare war on a certain community?”
“Two wrongs do not make a right. There is a law that says there should not be discos in estates. I have no problem with bars and restaurants. But overnight discos? We must be considerate of others and have do business with order,” he said.
“In my meetings with them we said they would soundproof and we will not compromise on that,” added the governor.
Meanwhile, Governor Sakaja maintains that plans to decongest the city are still intact despite opposition from the DP’s office.
