Donkey carts to be banned from Meru town

Meru Governor Peter Munya addresses press after commissioning four garbage collectors, a vacuum exhauster and a water browser in Meru town. PHOTO:  PATRICK MUTHURI /STANDARD

MERU: In a move to transform Meru town to a modern city, donkey carts, littering and hawking will no longer be allowed within the town.

The county notes that hawking of vegetables and littering of the streets continue to give the town a rural image despite the millions of shillings pumped into the new streets and cabro-paved parking yards.

"When I see hawking of farm produce in our streets, sometimes I wonder whether we did all this to provide just trading spaces," said Governor Peter Munya.

He said the town's traffic was being worsened by donkey carts that are predominantly used as a cheap means of transport.

STREET HAWKING

The town management board said it would provide mandatory routes for donkey carts, and that hawking of vegetables and farm produce will only be allowed in the streets on Sundays.

The county recently announced that it will launch a beautification project along the main highway in the town from Gitimbine estate to the edge of Mt Kenya Forest on the Meru-Nanyuki highway, and from Makutano township to Kenya Methodist University (Kemu) on the Meru-Maua highway.

The project will also involve rehabilitation of Kathita River.

Mr Munya spoke when he launched four Sh36.5 million refuse collection trucks and a Sh9 million sewer exhauster.