The system groups Nairobi’s 17 sub-counties and 85 wards into six geographical zones, each headed by a borough manager. Sakaja said the arrangement has reduced the number of administrative units that senior county officials have to coordinate during the ongoing flood mitigation efforts.

“To make the work easy, we are working under the boroughs system. Rather than deal with 85 wards in Nairobi, or 17 sub-counties, Nairobi has been divided into six boroughs, each headed by a borough manager,” Sakaja said.

He said borough managers provide consolidated reports from their respective areas, allowing county officials to identify emerging problems and direct teams to affected locations.

“All the six cover the 17 sub-counties and the whole 85 wards. It has been very easy to coordinate because we only call the six borough managers, and they give us a whole report of what is happening all over Nairobi. Hence, we coordinate the works much easier,” he said.

The Central Borough comprises Starehe, Kamukunji and Mathare sub-counties, while the Western Borough covers Westlands, Dagoretti North and Dagoretti South. The Northern Borough comprises Kasarani, Roysambu and Ruaraka.

The Southern Borough covers Kibra and Lang’ata, the Eastern Borough comprises Embakasi North, Embakasi West and Embakasi Central, while the South Eastern Borough covers Embakasi South, Embakasi East and Makadara.

The structure is being used alongside a multi-agency response involving county departments, national government agencies and disaster management teams as Nairobi prepares for increased rainfall.

Sakaja said mitigation works had been undertaken in several flood-prone areas, including along the Ngong River in Lang’ata, where sections have been dredged and deepened to improve water flow.

“We have done a lot of work in Lang’ata Constituency. The Ngong River that goes through South C has been well dredged and deepened to reduce the impact that has always been experienced. We have also removed walls that were affecting the flow of water,” he said.

On Tuesday, Sakaja inspected drainage and flood mitigation works in several parts of the city, including the Central Business District and Country Bus area, Kayole Slaughterhouse, Kangundo Road, Matopeni Spring Valley in Embakasi Central, Garden Estate Road, Oak Place in Ridgeways and parts of Roysambu.

The works include desilting waterways, clearing drainage corridors, widening channels and improving culverts to increase storm-water flow.

The county is also working with national government agencies on areas where drainage infrastructure cuts across administrative boundaries, reflecting the interconnected nature of flooding in the city.

With the rains expected to begin within days, Sakaja said the immediate priority was to complete outstanding mitigation works and keep response teams on standby.

The borough system is intended to provide a link between the county’s central command and teams operating at sub-county and ward level, allowing information on flooding and blocked drainage channels to be consolidated through six managers rather than 17 sub-counties or 85 wards.