Nairobi garbage collectors on boycott over Sh 800 million unpaid debts by county government

 The contracted garbage collectors have been on a boycott since the beginning of June over unpaid arrears in excess of Sh800 million

It will take some time before garbage collection services in the city resume to satisfactory levels if City Hall fails to act.

The contracted garbage collectors have been on a boycott since the beginning of June over unpaid arrears in excess of Sh800 million. In the last few weeks, the uncollected waste has piled up in city streets and estates, but City Hall has been mum on the matter.

Environment chief officer Christine Ogut held a crisis meeting with the collectors, but the deliberations yielded nothing as the collectors insisted on payment of the arrears dating back to 2015.

“City Hall has not been paying as agreed in installments. Servicing our equipment has become an uphill task,” a contractor who sought anonymity told The Nairobian.

The county’s environment department was allocated Sh1.58 billion in the 2015/16 financial year that is ending this month.

Late last year, the National Youth Service had to come to the rescue of City Hall when the latter was overwhelmed with piling garbage.

Governor Evans Kidero claimed cartels were frustrating the services, but even after he sacked then environment boss Evans Ondieki and made changes in the department, the problem has persisted.

“Should City Hall continue to ignore our grievances, then the city will have to deal with the garbage,” said the collector.