Q & A with Mombasa Mayor Ahmed Mohdhar

He hits out at his critics and outlines his achievements and visions for Mombasa town.He spoke to Eugene OMILO.

Q: The mention of the Municipal Council is almost always synonymous with ‘garbage’ which has proved a major problem in Mombasa over the years of your reign as the mayor. Why are we stuck?

A: The cleanliness of our town is one of our core mandates as a Council and that is why there is a connection between garbage and the Council. What I want to assure Mombasa residents however is that we are not stuck. As we strive to clean the town, we want the public to be vigilant and apprehend all the enemies of the town’s environment because cleanliness is the duty of all of us and not the Council alone.

Q: What has the Council done to play its part?

A: When I was elected Mayor in 2008, I inherited a debt of Sh200 million owed to private garbage collectors. The Council was paying Sh10, 000 per hour for the services of privately owned bull dozers. It was through my effort that the Council has acquired two bulldozers that are manned by our own staff. We have repaired several trucks and bought new ones to increase efficiency. We have the will to make Mombasa clean, but let everyone play their part too.

Q: Do you have any concrete long term plans to address the garbage collection process?

A: Yes. We are working hand in hand with our parent ministry to put up project that will involve recycling of the garbage. We have been promised a grant of Sh1 billion by our development partners in France. This will help us build a recycling plant in Mwakirunge, a landfill in Likoni and a collection site at VOK area where we have enough land for the purpose.  The ministry has already invited tenders so we expect the projects to take off soon.

Q: Why not privatize the whole process, we understand there were plans for the same earlier on?

A: Privatization? No way! We cant transfer all the Council’s duties to private hands. If other Councils are handling their functions well, why not us? We also need to protect the jobs of Council employees. We are currently in court battling with a private company that has been running our parking services where we are earning a paltry Sh1 million instead of Sh25 to Sh30 million. This money is going to few individuals yet it is supposed to serve Mombasa residents.

Q: The election of the Mayor of Mombasa has always been influenced by various forces including wealthy businessmen and senior politicians. This has left many people wondering whether the Mayor is solely in charge of the city or is controlled by other caucuses?

A: If you didn’t know before then take it from me that as far as the mayors office is concerned, the buck stops with me. Period.

Q: What have you done as far as the social welfare of the people of Mombasa is concerned?

A: I am the first Mayor in Kenya to establish a bursary kitty for destitute children. I came with the idea of allocating Sh110,000 annually to all elected councillors in Mombasa to cater for bursary needs in their wards. I also established the Mayor’s Idd and X mass tree fund which has raised money that we have used to help poor children pay their fees. I have renovated the Municipal stadium and next, I will install floodlights.

Q: Mombasa being a historical and tourist town, does the Council have any agenda to promote this important sector? 

A: We recognize this fact and we have gone to great lengths to support tourism. Tourism cannot be sustained if the town does not have enough security. That is why we have installed street lights to make our streets secure. We are also working hand in hand with Kenya Urban Roads Authority to ensure our roads are maintained to the highest standards. We recently procured a grader for this purpose.

Q: You have been portrayed by the media as one person who is always fighting unending wars, seeing everyone as an enemy including journalists! Why all the uproar?

A: When you hear me shouting, I am not fighting my own wars. I am only protecting the integrity of the people of Mombasa because anyone who utters a word of disrespect to the Council is as good as abusing all the residents of Mombasa which is unacceptable. I don’t expect anyone to issue blanket statements declaring the whole town is stinking, corrupt, etc. It can’t be the whole Municipality. My door is open and I expect those who are discontented by our way of doing things to address us in a formal way. Let people come to us with solutions instead of criticism, we accept wise counsel.

Q:There are accusations that you have been overstepping your mandate to carry out functions of the executive arm of the Council. Is there any discord?

A:Most people think that the mayor is the one to tackle everything that is to be handled by the Council. Whatever is seen as an excess of my power arises from the passion that I have for my job and the good intentions that I have for the people of Mombasa. I try to work closely with the Town Clerk and departmental heads because the blame is always heaped on me not them.

Q: How is your relationship with MPs representing the four constituencies falling under the Municipality?

A: I am glad, three out of the four MPs have worked at the Council and they understand how we work. We have allowed CDF committees to put up viable projects on our land. What I oppose is the idea of a leader trying to acquire Council property by force .However good intentions one might have for our projects, they must respect my office and follow the right procedure.

We also hope to work well with other stakeholders including the new Mombasa Water and Sewerage Board which has very competent directors.

Q: Talking about land, it is common knowledge that various plots within the CBD previously belonging to the Council have been grabbed and you haven’t raised your voice yet?

A: My hands are tied. We have to follow the law because I cannot revoke anyone’s title deed. Once a  gazette notice orders the repossession of a plot, I will pursue it, even if it belongs to my brother.

Q:Any surprise in store for the people of Mombasa?

A: We shall soon be commissioning the one and only fire station complete with a training school for firemen in Likoni . I am expecting a fire engine donated to us by the Mayor of Kobe in Japan and another one from England. These will be dispatched to sensitive areas like Changamwe as we work on reviving more old engines.

Q: Your parting shot?

A: Mombasa is home to 3 million people. Out of all these people, it is Mohdhar who is Mayor of Mombasa yet I am  not an intellectual or even handsome. This is God’s plan and that is why I want to carry out my duties with diligence. If anyone is bitter about my occupancy of the Mayors’ parlour then I am sorry because my fate is above my own control.