Kidero plays the blame game as garbage chokes Nairobi
Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero and City Hall officials were on Tuesday trying to exonerate themselves from blame over heaps of garbage that are piling up in Nairobi.
Almost every back street in downtown Nairobi has been turned into a dumpsite by contractors licensed to collect and dispose of the solid waste.
Governor Kidero, in a post on Facebook, blamed corruption and cartels who have lobbied residents and businesses to solicit services from the Private Service Providers (PSP) instead of the contracted franchisees.
“I have therefore with immediate effect directed my County Executive for Environment to ensure waste and litter is cleared within three days. An enforcement team is also on high alert to arrest and prosecute anyone caught collecting and dumping solid waste illegally,” he said.
UNUSUAL
Nairobi City County Executive for Environment Evans Ondieki admitted the situation was unusual.
“This is abnormal. It has never happened that garbage is being dumped in the CBD,” he said.
Mr Ondieki blamed the mess on rivalry between garbage disposal contractors.
He said some contractors whose licenses were withdrawn were dumping garbage in the back streets and in open areas, especially on Juja Road and Kariokor and Wakulima markets.
An investigation established that some companies were not disposing the waste at Dandora Dumpsite but were dumping it in the CBD.
NOT ACCESSIBLE
“Dandora is no longer accessible,” an employee of one of the firms admitted.
Mr Ondieki admitted that Dandora is no longer accessible due to poor roads and gangs that demand money from private garbage collection firms.
Dandora Dumpsite is full to capacity and plans to relocate it to Ruai were put on hold after experts warned that birds attracted to the new site may hinder aircraft using Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.