Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero is the talk of Twitter town following a report aired on Citizen TV detailing how the City in the sun has become one big dump site.
The accumulation of garbage in Nairobi has become synonymous with the county government as collection and disposal seem to have died with the coming of the county government.
Most people feel that the defunct City Council was doing a better than Kidero is.
The gripe continues with many Nairobians having called for Kidero’s resignation over the menace.
On Monday, #KideroFailedNairobi was the trending topic:
From the #CBD to #Kibra to #Eastleigh. #Nairobi, once city in the sun, is no more! #KideroFailedNairobi pic.twitter.com/B4U2fyRBIG
— Ahmed Mohamed™ (@asmali77) December 28, 2015
RT @team_kama WHERE IS @KideroEvans? #KibraNeglected #EastleighNeglected to #KideroFailedNairobi https://t.co/hAFEfbhxeC… #EmbakasiNeglected — Judith Dora Akolo (@JudithAkolo) December 28, 2015
Indeed, a Tweet Poll conducted on Monday showed that the governor is doing everything wrong when it comes to garbage.
Others jibed:
We thought it was just Eastleigh only to realize that Nairobi is a hotbed of garbage #KideroFailedNairobi
— Ahmedkadar (@Ahmedkadar1) December 28, 2015
#KideroFailedNairobi WHAT WILL IT TAKE? @KideroEvans A MAJOR CHOLERA OUTBREAK in #NAIROBI? pic.twitter.com/blm6mJrFad — #KibraNeglected (@Team_Kama) December 28, 2015
#KideroFailedNairobi NAIROBI we MUST demand BASIC services. #GarbageCentral pic.twitter.com/RrPxggpXSV
— #KibraNeglected (@Team_Kama) December 28, 2015
Others predicted that the governor will be sent packing come 2017.
#KideroFailedNairobi… kidero will go home before 8am in 2017 elections…..rating 1/10 — Follow IG:sharonvill (@wangarishah) December 28, 2015
And a voice of reason in the midst of the displeasure:
We should not blame the governor for our own ignorance, and irresponsible acts, change begins with you and me. #KideroFailedNairobi
— Nickson Nick (@NickMachanin) December 28, 2015
I agree #KideroFailedNairobi but also all the idlers in the city shld go back in their home counties, that was the main aim of devolution. — Denis Kangu (@DenisKangu) December 28, 2015
Earlier in the year, activists Benjamin Ndolo and Victor Oluoch sued Kidero seeking information from over payments made to a garbage collector.
The two alleged that the county government of Nairobi made a fraudulent payment to a bank account of a private limited company.
They also wanted the court to order the Co-operative Bank of Kenya to produce bank statements for the said company for inspection.
The activists, who appeared before High Court Judge Mumbi Ngugi, alleged that the County Government of Nairobi, led by Governor Kidero, paid sh7.6 million to Peposi Freighters Limited only four days after it was incorporated as a Limited Liability Company.
The court was informed that the firm opened a bank account on December 16, 2014 and the deposit made four days later at its City Hall Branch.
Despite there being garbage collectors, the piling filth continues to be an eyesore to residents and visitors alike.
In August, the Nation reported that City Hall had invited a foreign company to help the county government manage waste disposal.
This is after admitting that collecting garbage and disposing it had become a big challenge.
Kidero attributed the increased garbage heaps in most parts of Nairobi to a drastic increase in the population.
Hong Kong-based Mezzo Holdings Ltd was to share with City Hall in their waste management experience
“We have a very good method of solid waste management in Fukuoka State in Japan which we hope to apply and teach in Nairobi County,”
the company’s group Director, Shreshta G.P said then.
The city authorities have been having trouble managing garbage collection fleet and despite having bought new trucks and hired more drivers, the amount of trash collected around the city had not changed.
In a project aimed at easing this challenge, IBM learned that:
“It turns out that drivers of the garbage trucks were illegally using their vehicles to transport sand and building stones for private businessmen outside Nairobi, instead of collecting and disposing of garbage from the city’s residential areas,”
said Evans Ondieki, Nairobi county executive for waste management and the environment.
IBM developed a GPS fleet management system for the Nairobi City County that the city authorities used to rein in errant drivers. The system transmits real-time data on the amount of fuel used, distance covered, time and place spent idling, and the routes used.
The Mail and Guardian Africa reported in June that IBM’s approach saw tonnage of garbage collected increase from 800 metric tonnes to 1,400 metric tonnes a day.
The question, however, is how long it will take for the garbage menace to be addressed conclusively since the public-private partnership in applied research by IBM shows it can work.
Is it difficult for people to be responsible?