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Aga Khan pledges to restore park’s glory 2012-12-02

Date: 
Sunday, 2012, December 2
Location: 

nairobi city park

Source: 
Sunday Monitor
 The Aga Khan (L) with Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga after signing an agreement to rehabilitate Nairobi City Park
Author: 
Peter Leftie

His Highness the Aga Khan and Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga yesterday launched a major project to return the Nairobi City Park to its lost glory when they witnessed the signing of an agreement to rehabilitate the facility.

Speaking at the ceremony held at the National Museum, the Aga Khan announced that the Aga Khan Trust was committed to investing in rehabilitating cultural facilities that will impact positively on the lives of the poor people across the globe. He said that the Trust was undertaking 10 other similar projects worldwide, the Nairobi project being the second in the East African region after a similar one in Zanzibar. He projected that once rehabilitated, the Park would be able to attract millions of visitors drawn from all corners of the world every year.

Mr Odinga said the project would make a substantial contribution to improving the urban environment of Nairobi. He said the importance of green spaces in fast growing mega-cities could not be underestimated as they played a big role in improving the quality of the environment. “They have proved to be catalysts for economic activity and a source of employment, both directly and indirectly,” he said.

The Prime Minister was optimistic that once rehabilitated, the Park would help raise awareness among the public as a whole on the judicious use of environmental resources. Mr Odinga said his office was in talks with the Aga Khan Development Network for support in Cash transfer, Micro Franchising and youth programmes in the Coast and in early childhood investment in nutrition and health care and loving home.

Agreement signed
The agreement was signed by Local Government Permanent Secretary Prof. Karega Mutahi, his National Heritage counterpart, Prof. Jacob ole Marion, Nairobi Town Clerk Tom Odongo and Luis Monreal for the Aga Khan Trust.
The agreement paves the way for the Aga Khan Trust to embark on the rehabilitation exercise starting early next year.

The project will entail environmental improvements, landscape architectural conservation and enhancement and creation of new facilities which will improve the quality of the site, making the environment safe for visitors to the Park.

According to Prof Mutahi, who chairs the steering committee overseeing the Park’s rehabilitation and Mr Monreal, the general manager at the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, the project will entail giving a facelift to a football pitch which has remained disused for many years.

An ampi-theatre and a swimming pool as well as a food court will also be constructed at the Park to help it generate its own income.


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