Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has threatened to deregister Private Service Providers' businesses who are facilitating unlawful waste dumping across the city.
Speaking during an interview with Radio Citizen on Wednesday, September 17, Sakaja claimed that despite these individuals being paid to collect and dispose of waste appropriately, they have recurrently disposed of waste at unlawful sites.
According to Sakaja, the providers hire youth and instruct them to dispose of the waste at unlawful sites at night to avoid detection.
"When you go to some areas, such as Kawangware, we, as the county government, clean up these places, but after a while, these places are dirty again. Some private service providers are being paid to collect waste, and then they are unlawfully dumping waste at night. We are going to deregister them," Sakaja said.
The County Chief further noted that the county government is keen to establish more waste management infrastructure across the county and hire more people, especially the youths, who will be tasked with ensuring that streets are clean.
"The last time the Nairobi county government hired people to clean the streets was in 1987, and you find that those who were hired are already old and want to retire. We also had a problem with equipment because you must have lorries and buckles and other facilities, and we have a plan to rectify this," Sakaja stated.
The governor, however, claimed that the reluctance of the National Government to release county funds has significantly undermined the county government's ability to fast-track the implementation of more advanced solutions to solve the waste management crisis.
Operationalising Green Nairobi Company
In response to this, Sakaja said that the county government is in the process of operationalising the Green Nairobi Company as part of long-term solutions to curb unlawful waste management in the city.
Sakaja explained that the company will convert waste into energy for use in the city, noting that similar strategies have been successfully adopted in other African cities, including Johannesburg, Lagos, Addis Ababa, and Cape Town.
Sakaja claimed that the company will integrate the existing Green Army, who will be employed on permanent and pensionable terms.
"The soon-to-be-operational Green Nairobi Company Limited is designed to revolutionize waste management, provide long-term solutions for harnessing waste-to-energy, and enhance environmental cleanliness across the capital," Sakaja stated.
"Modelled after the Nairobi Water Company, Green Nairobi Company Limited will be wholly owned by the County Government of Nairobi. It will operate under the leadership of a CEO, a professional board of experts and enjoy full financial independence," he added.
