| THAT, ware that the functions of Firefighting Services and Disaster Management are vested in the County Governments, pursuant to provisions of Part Two of the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution of Kenya; further aware that informal settlements are generally characterized by poor infrastructural development, including lack of access roads and in the majority of cases, informal settlements face fire disasters with late response from the County Fire and Disaster Management team; concerned that even where some assistance is provided, firefighting equipment generally arrives too late after the fire has consumed properties or wiped out the entire settlement; observing that the County Government has in the recent past purchased a number of quad bikes to improve the response time when there is a fire outbreak in the informal settlements. However, several of the bikes have not been functional in the informal settlements due to their small capacity for carrying water and lack of hydrants within the settlements to refill them; noting that the National Government in conjunction with the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation, embarked on the construction of the Northern Collector Tunnel in 2015, that is set to pump 140 million liters of water daily into Nairobi and other environs, therefore improving the supply of water in the County and specifically in informal settlements; realizing that Nairobi City County has a number of water hydrants distributed within the County, however, majority of them are inaccessible or not functioning; now therefore this Assembly urges the County Executive to:
1. Conduct an assessment on the number of water hydrants in the County and conduct continuous
routine inspection and repairs of water hydrants;
2. Construct/install water hydrants in all the informal settlements that lack water hydrants; and,
3. Immediately submit the Fire Rescue and Services Policy and Bill to the County Assembly for
approval. |