The long awaited rains are finally here and as has been the case in the past, Mombasa county especially the Island, is one flooded mess. After just a day of rains, the drainage situation leaves much to be desired and life in some places has been brought to a halt.
It’s so disappointing to see how the roads are flooded in Mombasa after the heavy pour. its repeated every rainy season.
— Manpreet Singh (@Manpreet_Bhabra) March 24, 2015
Some of the badly hit areas include Ganjoni, Bondeni, Kibokoni, Old Town, Kongowea, CBD, Kisumu Ndogo, Likoni, Bombolulu among others. Mombasa residents took to social media to express their frustration and anger at the County Government’s failure to improve the drainage situation.
As seen from the pictures shared, residents in some parts are forced to wade in filthy floodwater to move within their neighborhoods. This situation is putting thousands of residents at risk of waterborne diseases especially in informal settlements where sanitation and drainage facilities are already strained.
@Ma3Route looks like Mombasa city has serious drainage problems,its flooded everywhere!!! pic.twitter.com/g9xzX46gYn — Carol Gakii (@CarolGakii) March 24, 2015
There were unconfirmed reports of the death of a schoolboy who was electrocuted in Mariakani while wading through floodwater on his way to school.
The Mombasa County Government Watch (MCGW) a pressure group that highlights some of the issues and challenges that citizens are facing took time to highlight the problem. The MCGW through its Twitter and Facebook pages shared and captioned all the floods pictures “They promise, we deliver.” A mimicry of Governor Ali Joho’s election motto.
The MCGW is well know for its opposition to Joho and support for Suleiman Shahbal, who bitterly contested the gubernatorial election in 2013 and is getting ready to have another go in 2017.
The lack of planning and poor preparedness of the county government has once again been brought to focus with questions on the relevance of the County projects such as the city beautification and paved sidewalks as this tweet by Jessica shows.
Wow Mombasa is a flooded mess.. so we got new pretty sidewalks, but no drainage system?
— Jessica (@jaeldius) March 24, 2015
The disappointment among residents is intense coming soon after a report that put Mombasa at the bottom of development expenditure among the 47 counties.
Perhaps it is in this light that one resident gave the county government grade E. One senses that the county government will come under more pressure as residents grow impatient and demand for better services.
@Ma3Route Roads in Mombasa have been turned into rivers, completely flooded, an E grade for Joho led government.
— musungu andrew (@Amusungu5Andrew) March 24, 2015
Photo Credits: Facebook
It is sad that our living conditions have to be like this, whom do we blame for the status quo?
Whom should we blame for the status quo?