Today we are grateful to be issuing bursaries.

Story by Ayubu John photo journalist Afrimedia Group news.

Today we are grateful to be issuing bursaries. We started with our Form Four (Grade 10) students because many of them had appealed for financial assistance. The bursary program for Form Four has been successfully implemented.

A total of 25 million shillings has been paid out, with each student receiving 10,000 shillings, benefiting approximately 3,000 students. The demand for bursaries was very high. I have been saying that most of our large institutions have many needy students. Therefore, we are looking at how to distribute funds fairly across different locations. Even after assisting the Form Four students, the funds were still not enough. We plan to issue another round of bursaries to support other students who are still in school. However, the available funds are not sufficient. We must review the education sector carefully so that we can support as many of our students as possible.

Do not distract me with other issues—my focus is clear. Many of the challenges we are facing should have been resolved by the national government, yet they remain serious problems. Even here in town, I constantly receive calls from young people. Garbage is not being collected. The county government was supposed to handle that responsibility. It is not just garbage collection; street lighting in Nairobi is also a major problem.

Personally, I have taken the initiative to install additional lights to improve safety. People are being harassed and even killed due to insecurity. In some areas, we installed lights using community funds because insecurity was high and the main issue was poor lighting. As a community, we stepped in to solve some of these problems.

There are also cases where contractors have suffered greatly. Some have even died from stress while waiting to be paid by the county government. One contractor passed away without being paid his bills, despite even taking loans. Where is the county money going? Instead of paying those who have completed their work, funds are being used to pay lawyers and other expenses. These are the problems we must address in Nairobi. The main problem in Nairobi is leadership.

That is why I have said today that I have been called by people who want us to begin a serious journey of transformation until Nairobi residents get proper leadership. Nairobi residents deserve better. We pay taxes. Providing services in Nairobi is not difficult because Nairobi has its own budget.

Garbage collection, county roads, and water services should not be a problem. In places like Njeru, I personally went and installed a borehole so that residents could access water. I have followed up with Nairobi Water officials to ensure water flows even in Njeru. All this work is not officially my responsibility, yet I have stepped in to make Nairobi better.

You may recall that during an interview, it was said that Nairobi needs a manager—and that is very true. There are not many cartels; in fact, some of the people claiming to fight cartels are the same ones benefiting from them. As for the position of governor, I believe I am capable of doing that job better than the other candidates.

Party matters will be decided later. The people of Kasarani elected me as an independent candidate, and I remain independent. However, in terms of support at the national level, I have currently given my support to President William Samoei Ruto. Party affiliation will be determined later.Thank you.