The Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura was on Wednesday, November 13, forced to intervene after Kenyans on social media took a swipe at Environmental Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale following his controversial remarks on Kenyans living in the informal sector.
On Tuesday, November 12, the former Defence CS, while addressing delegates at the COP29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, told the summit stakeholders that Kenya's middle class was prompt to pollute the Nairobi River.
While reiterating his speech, the Environment CS went ahead to compare the country's middle class with those from the informal sector who he lauded for their innovative waste management strategies.
“Informal settlers are not the ones polluting the Nairobi River. It is the middle class who pollutes it because they have garbage. Those in the informal settlements don't have garbage because they eat everything,” Duale told the summit stakeholders.
However, it did not take long before Kenyans began to react to his statement with some online users terming CS Duale's controversial remarks as derogatory.
The Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura, while defending CS Duale, clarified that the minister’s remarks had been taken out of context and that he only commended those living in the informal sector for their creativity in waste management.
According to Isaac Mwaura, CS Duale's speech was a form of encouragement for middle-class Kenyans to replicate the same effort displayed by the informal sector to keep the environment clean.
“The comment by Environment CS Aden Duale has been blown out of proportion. What he meant is that Kenyans living in the informal settlements have mastered the art of recycling and re-using waste materials creatively. The govt encourages the middle class and all Kenyans to do the same,” Mwaura stated.
Meanwhile, CS Duale during his speech in Azerbaijan also announced plans to introduce mandatory colour-coded garbage collection bins for all households, particularly in Nairobi once he returns to Nairobi.
Duale further noted that the new move would help reduce pollution of the Nairobi River and instead encourage the recycling of garbage. According to the CS, stern measures would be taken on anyone found culpable of polluting the Nairobi River.
"When I go back to Nairobi, I am going to gazette the colour-coded garbage bins, so when you walk to a supermarket, there will be a bin for the organic. We must shift to an economy where part of the garbage can be recycled," noted Duale.
"Anybody who is doing the imperil, despite his status, along the Nairobi River will be a victim. Because of the climate change and flooding, 42 people died in Nairobi," the CS added.
