Hostile to the poor; too expensive for the rich.

Quite uncharacteristically, and in this untypical rainy Nairobi morning, I took a leisurely stroll along the entire length of Landhies Road from the City Stadium to the Retail Market. Compared to a similarly daring excursion a year ago is remarkably similar inclement weather, the facilities for the walking masses of Kaloleni, Shauri Moyo and Muthurwa who choose to use Landhies Road are in good shape, especially now that they have all but guaranteed that the annoying boda boda riders will not use the footpaths. These facilities, too, expose the disdain and contempt with which the County Government of Nairobi City holds the poor.

Evans Kidero and his County Executive Committee think the poor are an afterthought, an irritant, an inconvenience. If they could all just go away. Far away. Back "upcountry". In the county government's estimation, Nairobi is designed for the middle class who drive and for those who don't drive but who take public transport. The walking public is a nuisance. They are the ones who attract hawkers and other "street vendors" into the Central Business District. They are the ones who litter the streets with the detritus of their lunches. They are the ones who frequent eating "joints" for whom the Public Health Act looms like the Swords of Damocles for all the cockroaches and rats that have run of those places.

Mr Kidero and his county executive should take a really close look at the world class cities they are trying to benchmark Nairobi City against. A visit to Bogotá or Buenos Aires should be an eye-opener. So too would a visit to Perth or Sydney. London and Berlin, Paris and Milan are out of our league and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. But Bogotá or Buenos Aires should educate Mr Kidero and his county executive about what it takes to make a world class city. A hint would be is that a world class city is not just designed for the motoring public.

Landhies Road exposes the surprising lack of imagination among the City Fathers. While pavements for pedestrians are in good shape, the drain and sewer systems are still a complete mess. As you pass Muthurwa and Retail Markets, the mikokoteni have commandeered the area as their preferred parking, inconveniencing the mass of pedestrians. And it is a mass. But one of the most egregious is the inadequacy of the space provided. It is as well-done as could be, but it is not designed for the hundreds of thousands who use it every single morning, inclement weather notwithstanding. At night, it is an obstacle course with pedestrians playing chicken with determined phone thieves, purse-snatchers and sundry petty criminals all because the place is so ill-lit and bushy that anyone can become a victim.

Of course Mr Kidero has come to the harsh realisation that Nairobi is the preserve of cartels. And being a serious manager, he has a painful understanding of the effects of cartelisation on consumer confidence, investment and the rule of law. Mr Kidero will be right to argue that without the support of the national government, Nairobi will never be the world class city we all wish it was. That is the tragedy of our fair city: Uhuru Kenyatta's Jubilee government would rather cut its nose (Nairobi) to spite its face (CORD). That degree of pride, exemplified in the penis-obsessed Member for Gatundu, is the reason that Nairobi will continue to rank as a hostile place for the poor and too expensive even for the rich.