In a bid to restore the city's lost glory, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has introduced a strategy that will see whistleblowers reap big.
The governor on Wednesday, November 2, promised to reward anyone that will capture and report careless people dumping garbage in the city and in return share the fines with them.
“As we unclog the drainage system throughout the city, let’s kindly desist from further illegal dumping. If you spot a person dumping and you record, and report the case; we arrest, prosecute and split the fine. Will work on the county law to provide for this. Let’s keep our city clean,” said Sakaja.
Nairobi residents have been calling out on the governor, who took over all functions of City Hall, to clear heaps of garbage that dot most estates and streets.
In a past address, Sakaja blamed the regime of former governor Anne Kananu’s conflict of interest with 46 companies contracted to collect the garbage in the city.
Sakaja was responding to images that showed heaps of garbage in Pipeline area, Embakasi West Constituency. He however promised to make the city clean by reforming the tender awards to garbage collectors.
“Not just Pipeline Estate. A lot of Nairobi has been like this. Months of neglect, illegal dumping in undesignated sites, garbage contractors downing their tools due to money owed. In our first month in office, we have collected over 70k tonnes. You will see sustainable changes,” he said.
The menace of garbage in the city has been a major concern for long, and saw the then governor Evans Kidero clash with Mike Sonko, who was serving as the county senator.
The garbage war began after Sonko Rescue Team launched "Operation Ngarisha Jiji" campaign that saw trucks collect loads of litter across the city.
In a close rejoinder, Kidero, who was serving his first term and failed to recapture the sea, warned against unauthorized garbage collectors.
The County government banned illegal garbage collection, threatening to slap those who flout the rules with hefty fines.
“We do not mind anyone collecting garbage, but they should follow the procedure that meets the county conditions and that of the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) by having the right licenses,” said the then-county Secretary Robert Ayisi.
After his swearing-in, Sakaja promised to address the garbage menace during an inaugural city tour in some parts of the city which are highly affected by ugly garbage heaps.
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