The County Government of Mombasa is ramping up the construction of new drainage systems and unclogging of stormwater drainages’ as the March, April, and May (MAM) heavy rains begin.
The County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Transport and Infrastructure, Daniel Manyala, said when he supervised the ongoing works along Nyerere Avenue and Old Town, they learnt a lot from last year’s El Niño rains that wrought havoc in the port city.
According to an advisory from the Kenya Meteorological Department, CECM Manyala stated that they have gone out of their way to prepare for any eventuality as the county expects above-normal rains.
“We have mapped out all the black spots that usually flood during rainy seasons. We have initiated some small-scale construction works to ensure we solve the flooding problem with finality,” he said.
The Bamburi outfall facility (Mbaraki-Nyerere Avenue) works are funded by Trademark to solve the problem of flooding along the stretch.
“The work is about 60 per cent done; even with the rains that we witnessed yesterday, there were no flooding at all in this section. On the island, unclogging works on drainage systems are ongoing, and most parts of the island have not flooded,” said Manyala.
To ensure a seamless flow of information, Mombasa has created a disaster response team up to the village level.
“Through our Serikali Mashinani department, We have been able to create a system where information of whatever eventuality befalls our people can flow. We don’t anticipate a major problem because we are well prepared,”
He said the county has put in place measures for an accident that occurred in Makupa not to recur when three county employees, while unclogging drainage, drowned and died.
“It was an accident; we have to ensure that the unfortunate incident does not happen again. We have enhanced our safety mechanism for our staff; we have brought things that we didn’t have; we have improved our training; and our team is ready to face any eventuality,” stated Manyala.
On road construction, the County Government has engaged the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) to always provide road designs to make sure the surrounding areas are taken into consideration during road construction.
On the Nyali-Mtwapa, he noted that the drainage system is not to the satisfaction of the county government, saying the 1.5-metre box culvert was below the expected standard of 4 metres, noting “it is still better than nothing.”
He said the technical teams of state agencies and county governments should work together to come up with local solutions when designing projects. He noted that County Governments play a key role in planning and should be involved at the project inception stage.
By Sadik Hassan
