Evans Kidero: Nairobi residents made the City dirty, not me

Nairobi residents are to blame for the stench and mountains of garbage littering the city, Governor Evans Kidero has said.

The pronouncement came amid complaints by five hotels along River Road that they were making huge losses due to failure by the county to collect garbage that had accumulated behind their premises for months. The hotels claim they are losing customers due to the dirty state of the city.

Kidero, while admitting the state of filth said: “The situation is exacerbated because most residents have not adapted good practices. They dump waste anywhere and anyhow, therefore complicating the management of solid waste collection.”

The city reportedly generates 2,000 tonnes of waste every day, but City Hall only collects a fraction of this.

The current mess has however been exacerbated following the cancellation of a contract awarded to a garbage collection firm that reportedly fell off with City Hall.

Kidero said he has directed the county environment boss Evans Ondieki, his Chief Officer Leah Oyake and the entire environment department to clean the city before the weekend.

“In the coming days, the City County environment team will continue to clean various parts of the city. In the long term, the phased implementation of integrated solid waste masterplan is designed to systematically address these challenges,” he said.