Town streets get Sh13m facelift

Nyeri Town. [Photo: Courtesy]

The county government has embarked on a beautification project in efforts to give the town a facelift.

In the ambitious modernisation plan, county employees have been re-planting flowerbeds, paving pedestrian walkways, and re-carpeting roads and roundabouts.

One of the projects currently underway is the renovation of parking bays, which cost the previous regime Sh13 million to build.

In 2016, the National Taxpayers Association said the project did not give residents value for money, noting that the funds were spent on kerb stones and thermal paint for only 34 parking spots.

The county government is now demolishing the kerb stones, saying they are not necessary for marking parking spaces.

Infrastructure and Housing Executive Daniel Kwai said it was necessary to remove the stones to neaten the town's appearance and also for the safety of motorists and their vehicles.

“Those kerb stones took up too much space. They also trapped soil and dirt, leading to muddy roads and pavements.”

Mr Kwai said once the stones were removed, the county government would re-mark the parking bays using paint.

“What is happening with the parking bays is part of efforts to modernise the roads, I cannot discuss what informed the previous regime’s decision to put the stones but as a government, we intend to move forward with the renovations,” he said.

Collecting revenue

The county is also in the process of implementing multiple methods of collecting revenue.

This means residents will be able to send pay for county services via mobile phone transfers, bank deposits, cheques, ATM and smart cards.

The system, named 'Nyeri Pay', has already been piloted for the last two months and will allow the county government to physically locate business and reduce revenue leaks.

A similar revenue collection system is in place in Laikipia and Turkana counties.