City Hall on The Spot For Fuelling Vehicles In Kiambu

By Adieri Mulaa

City Hall has been cited for fueling all its service vehicles at one particular Shell petrol station in Gigiri.

Nairobi County Assembly is seeking to be furnished with a comprehensive list of all vehicles owned by the county government between 2020 and 2021, and their service history.

The House Transport and Public Works Committee now wants the county executive to avail a breakdown of its expenditure on fuel and servicing of the county vehicles during the period in question.

Tuesday last week, Mihang’o Ward Member of County Assembly (MCA) Paul Kiguathi Kados, Who is also the Majority Chief Whip, told the House the defunct City Council of Nairobi had an efficient fueling system and garage services for the City Council vehicles unlike the county government today.

Mihang’o Ward is in the far flung Eastlands suburbs of Nairobi City.

Kados narrated how in 2013, the county government inherited a complete system comprising a garage and filling station with fuel tanks and six pumps, where the entire fleet of city council vehicles were serviced for their operations.

Today, all Nairobi County Government vehicles including bulldozers as well as critical service vehicles like fire engines and ambulances have to make long trips to Gigiri to fuel before embarking on assignments across the county, the County Assembly heard.

“The long journeys to Gigiri are tiresome and a time consuming exercise that is costing the county government man hours and public money”, says Mihang’o Ward legislator.

Mr Kados has sought a statement from the House Transport and Public Works Committee on the management of fuel and garage services for the county government vehicles.

City Hall is required to demonstrate whether it is more efficient to use the private service providers instead of relying fuel and garage services run by the county government as it was previously done by the defunct City Council.

The Transport Committee will also seek to establish why the county government vehicles are fueled at a particular Shell petrol station in Gigiri. 

The committee has further been mandated by the House to establish ownership of the Shell petrol station in question and whether there was any evidence of conflict of interest or corruption involved in the county fuel and garage services.

At the same time, the House Committee will also be seeking to be furnished with the current state of the county’s garage services in the Industrial Area.

In his statement, Kados who is the Majority Whip wants the Transport Committee to table documents pertaining to the procurement process by which the county settled for one Shell petrol station and the approval documents thereto.

Similarly, the Transport Committee is  required to establish whether any action was taken to make the county filling station in Industrial Area and the garage operational.

About The Author