Governor Joho to impose waste collection levy in Mombasa

Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho. [Photo: Courtesy]

Households and businesses in Mombasa will soon begin paying for the solid waste they generate and dispose, Governor Hassan Joho said on Monday.

“We will introduce ‘huduma ya taka levy’. This has worked in other cities in the world. We have always said that they (locals) must do their part as we do ours,” said Joho.

Mombasa is currently battling the problem of uncollected garbage that has piled on road reserves, in residential and public areas.

County officials believe the levy will instill behavioural change or discipline in the solid waste disposal among the locals.

The governor did not say when the levy will be introduced, but officials from the county indicated that it will be charged based on the weight or volume of waste generated.

Joho also blamed private solid waste collection firms which he said were dumping garbage at undesignated areas in the city centre and along reserve roads in residential areas.

“There are over 40 private firms that collect garbage from residential areas and dump them along the roads. Let them be warned that we will take decisive action against them,” he warned.

He said punitive fines against those found littering the city had failed to work as a deterrent measure, and the county had opted to sensitise pedestrians on prudent waste disposal methods.

“We will engage the residents before we introduce the levy but is time that they play their part in the collection of the waste and to make the city clean,” said Joho.

According to a study by Danish agency Danida, the county produces 750 tonnes of waste daily — with less than half of it collected and mostly dumped at Kibarani and Mwakirunge.

The Mombasa governor was speaking yesterday at Mwembe Tayari when he launched an all-out assault to combat mosquitoes, to curb the spread of Chikungunya disease.

Among the areas most affected in Mombasa are Changamwe and Mvita sub-counties, according to Joho. The governor said the county had put measures in place to curb the spread of the viral disease to other areas.