CNN international correspondent Larry Madowo has slammed Kenyans over the habit of dumping waste in the streets of Nairobi, stressing that they should not place the blame on the government over the dirty environment.
Madowo was responding to a government critic online who had questioned the Nairobi County government's ability to maintain the cleanliness of the country's capital.
"Why can't our governor keep Nairobi streets as clean as can be seen in the picture? It cannot be that difficult or expensive," the critic said.
Responding to him through his official X account, on Saturday, June 21, Madowo said that the general public should also take personal initiative to ensure that the city is clean by avoiding dumping waste anywhere.
"Why can't Nairobians stop dumping trash everywhere around them? It can't be that difficult or expensive. Kenyans throw trash even from cars; is that still the duty of the government?" the renowned journalist said.
Madowo's statement comes at a time when the Nairobi county government has intensified its crackdown on illegal waste dumping in a bid to restore the environmental ambience in the capital.
In a statement on Saturday, June 21, the Nairobi County Environment Chief Officer Geoffrey Mosiria claimed that his department has deployed a team that will see the thorough cleaning of large markets, starting with Gikomba markets, which, according to him, generate a large amount of waste.
"This gap has significantly affected our operations, leading to the accumulation of garbage across the city, as our current internal capacity is not sufficient to manage the over 3,500 tonnes of waste generated daily, most of it being organic," Mosiria said.
Furthermore, Mosiria has announced that it has launched an operation that will identify and shut down all unlawful dumping sites across the city.
Additionally, the county government has further launched a crackdown on Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) and private waste collection service providers who are dumping their waste at unlawful sites.
According to Mosiria, the county government will revoke the licenses of any CBO or private operator caught dumping their waste unlawfully.
"I want to issue a stern warning to all Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) and private waste collection service providers using trucks: Stop dumping waste at illegal sites immediately," Mosiria stated.
