Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has raised concerns about the education qualifications of some of the staff employed by Governor Johnson Sakaja.
In a statement on Tuesday, March 5, Sifuna said he has been investigating the challenges experienced by the Nairobi County disaster team.
According to Sifuna, one of the problems is mismatched education qualifications and careers adding that some of the employees are hired for jobs they didn’t study in university.
“In my quest to understand where exactly the problem is with disaster response in Nairobi, be it fire incidents or rescue I’m learning that there is serious mismatch of qualifications and roles hindering those qualified from actually performing their duties,” he said.
Sifuna went ahead to give examples noting that the principal disaster management officer holds a bachelor’s degree in public relations (PR) while the principal fire officer has a master’s degree in theology.
Besides, the senator said the chief fire officer has a bachelor’s degree in library studies while the senior disaster management officer holds a bachelor’s degree in Tours and Travel.
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Embakasi East Childrens Home Fire
His revelations came a day after another fire burnt down a children’s home in Embakasi East.
The tragic incident happened on Sunday, March 3 leaving property destroyed and many children homeless.
“Sad news as fire razed down a children’s Home in Mradi, Embakasi. The helpless kids have been left homeless. Continue praying for us in Embakasi East,” said Embakasi East MP Babu Owino.
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Sakaja Visits Firefighters
Governor Johnson Sakaja on February 4 visited firefighters who sustained injuries while responding to a collapsed wall in Kariobangi.
The governor expressed gratitude for the unwavering dedication of the firefighters and acknowledged the risks they face while responding to emergencies across the city.
“This afternoon, I visited two of our officers who were injured in Kariobangi after a wall collapsed during response to a fire incident and are recuperating in hospital. We support them and encourage all our valiant officers to keep doing all they can to save lives and property,” said Governor Sakaja.
This was the second fire incident in Babu Owino’s constituency within a month, following a fatal gas explosion that claimed seven lives and left many residents injured in early February 2024.