A tour of Nairobi's CBD after fresh push to relocate hawkers, beautify the city

The changes, announced by Governor Johnson Sakaja, included the transfer of hawkers from major city streets and the removal of business signages.

This exercise followed the county’s ongoing efforts to maintain a cleaner city, with over 3,500 Green Army workers actively involved in street cleaning across Nairobi.

Patrick Analo, the Chief Officer Urban Development and Planning, reiterated the county's efforts to restore the beauty of Nairobi and bring back order to one of Africa's leading metropolis.

Analo also defended the county's move to remove signages hanging from the ceilings of major streets, stressing that they were not only an obstruction but had also been illegally erected.

In the ongoing efforts to clean up the city and refurbish it's look, Analo added that the county had directed all owners of buildings in Nairobi to paint their buildings and those that not comply with the directive would be dealt with according to the law. 

The new move has been welcomed by a majority of city dwellers who have lauded the move to transfer hawkers to the back streets and remove signages from the CBD.

However, some hawkers are still not happy with the new directive with some complaining of loss of business, unfavourable working environment and other issues.

Shop owners, too, have expressed their disagreement with the county's move to remove their business signages, with many saying that the removal of signages was affecting their business due to decreased physical marketing and poor visibility from new clients.

Despite the complaints from a section of business owners and hawkers, Analo has insisted that the county government would still press on with the beautification initiatives, adding that this was not just a passing fad but a solid plan from the county government.