Naivasha chocks in garbage as collection stalls

A pile of garbage.

A garbage crisis has hit Naivasha town after the county government sacked most of the town's street cleaners.

Major streets in the lakeside town have piles of uncollected garbage, a situation that has been worsened by the ongoing rains.

Lake View MCA Karanja Mburu said it was shocking to see garbage accumulating in the town's central business district.

"We just had a cholera epidemic and just when we thought the county had rectified its mistakes, garbage started stinking," he said.

His sentiments were echoed by Naivasha Professionals Association CEO Absolom Mukhusi, who said the town was losing its former glory.

Mr Mukhusi said the rainy season had made matters worse by washing some of the garbage into Lake Naivasha.

"We are destroying the lake's ecosystem yet we depend entirely on it for survival. Those concerned must rectify the mess,” he said.

A senior county official who declined to be named for fear of reprisal said the only garbage collection lorry left had been grounded for lack of fuel while the other broke down weeks ago.