poor infrastructure supported by even poorer planning if at all those departments still exist. its habitual hibernation until the next round of heavy rains make floods yet another topical issue. through floodwaters. The swimming caution is the one that takes the cake.
So, what is the point of advising someone to measure the depth of the water if you then prohibit them from venturing forward warning them that even shallow moving water can knock down a person. Whether one proceeds or stalls one still gets wet and uncomfortable.
The next tip advises people to stay away from rivers and drainage which from Ochieng’ s point of view is equivalent to telling the people of Nairobi to stay away from their homes which are built on rivers and their basins.
If one is told to stay away from riverbanks, drainage channels and flooded roads during heavy rain, it is tantamount to telling Nairobians to evacuate and move elsewhere since that is the entire Nairobi topography.
It is historically on record that Nairobi was built on a swamp and all the problems being experienced today were foreseen but due to officialdom and bureaucratic carelessness topped with a good dose of corruption, it has enabled the procrastination of a disaster.
Kenyans are aware of Venice, a city built on water and they do not have flooding issues and a whole country which is below sea level, the Netherlands and they have not been wiped out by floods so why is a foreseen infrastructural challenge not addressed in Kenya.
Thus, to ask Nairobians to avoid muddy waters as if the rain is going to fall only on concrete and to beware of areas with fallen powerlines is to publicly admit the existence poor infrastructure supported by even poorer planning if at all those departments still exist.
Thus, to ask Nairobians to avoid muddy waters as if the rain is going to fall only on concrete and to beware of areas with fallen powerlines is to publicly admit the existence
Heavy rains are not hurricanes or tornados and Kenya is lucky to not have to deal with those types of natural disasters which makes it the more ridiculous that such a heavy toll on human life is possible in a relatively mild climate.
Kenya is not a stranger to floods and the earliest recorded were in 1961 to 1962 which were referred to as the‘ Mafuriko’. They were nationwide and the next installment came in 1997 when the now common‘ El Nino’ designation was first used.
So, the country cannot pretend not to be aware of what happens when heavy rains pound Kenya and one has to assume that because these occurrences don’ t happen frequently, the government has chosen to turn a blind eye to them.
In the middle of the current crisis a tone-deaf Nairobi governor decided that it was the opportune time to remind people that they were living illegally on riparian land and would be forcefully moved for their safety and better control of the rivers and the drainage.
Knowing that next year is an election year one can safely opine that that is another hot air proclamation that will not see the light of day as those illegal riparian land encroachers also happen to be voters and can create spontaneous unrest.
The safety tips end with an exhortation for the public to periodically check official updates from the county, radio, TV and verified online platforms, whatever those are and more importantly how do people know they are verified and by whom.
One is then reminded to stay alert and stay safe while the county government which is now firmly in close cooperation with the national government proceeds to revert to
They even go as far as sharing emergency numbers to contact which are landlines and which Ochieng verified are only manned during working hours if you can get through, since disaster conveniently only occurs during working hours in the Nairobi County.
If this is how the Nairobi County, the preeminent county in the country, handles disaster management then you can imagine that for all the other counties it is a similar disheartening case of gross mismanagement and official apathy
Since the counties are the sum total of the nation then this negligence is asymptomatic of the general malaise in the national affairs where the elected officials are allergic to planning and action. We elect leaders for self-aggrandization not to improve the people’ s lot.
The last word is that if the Kenyan populace is expecting collective responsibility from their elected leaders where problems are foreseen and planned for, then they are in for a shock. The road to Singapore may as well be interrupted by broken sewer lines and smelly roads.
The only thing that Kenyans can be sure of is that the county government will indeed go to Singapore to benchmark their journey and they will remind the city dwellers that Singapore started as a city state to its present glory.
They will report that the country has a wonderful airport and that the country is exceedingly clean but they will somehow fail to realize that the country got to where they are by meticulous planning and not by mouthing grand but vacuous dreams.
The last word is that if the Kenyan populace is expecting collective responsibility from their elected leaders where problems are foreseen and planned for, then they are in for a shock. The road to Singapore may as well be interrupted by broken sewer lines and smelly roads.
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