By MARY KAMANDE

It received accolades for being the cleanest town in the country two consecutive times, but Thika would probably rank bottom if an audit of its sanitary conditions was conducted today.

A walk through the streets reveals a town suffocating under the weight of uncollected garbage in front of business premises and residential areas, as well as walkways.

In addition, storm drains along roads flow with sewage as many sewer lines are in a state of disrepair.

A case in point is the Kisii Road where all storm drain holes are open, their covers having been vandalised, with no signs anyone is in a hurry to replace.

This is the same case along other streets where manholes and inspection pits are covered with crumbling concrete covers.

Overgrown weeds seem to be the only ones enjoying the state of the town as they sway in the wind, their flowers shining.

Christine Muthoni, a Thika resident, nostalgically remembers days when the town was sparkling clean.

“There was a time when the municipal council collected garbage from the estates daily, but that seems a long time ago. The garbage trucks that we often saw and took for granted are now a sight to behold when they pass by once in a long while,” she says.

As a result, Muthoni says, areas in the town have become havens for mosquito breeding besides the nauseating stench from heaps of garbage.

Caroline Wanjiku, another resident, cannot believe her beloved town has degenerated so much.

An eyesore

“Strewn papers are now a common sight as are puddles. The open storm drains are also an eyesore, something really needs to be done immediately,” she says.

Contacted, the town’s chief public health officer, H A Mwasimba admits that the municipality’s sanitary standards have gone down in the recent past.

“I doubt if we can be in contention for a cleanliness award again if the sanitary audit was conducted today,” he says.

The audit, which assessed the councils on their sanitary provision, was last conducted in 2002-2003 and 2004-2005 – and Thika won in both periods.

Mwasimba attributes the decline in the town’s glory to factors such as inadequate human resource in his office.

“In the past, we had about 300 workers to clean the town, but the number has decreased to 60, for a town that has grown in population and infrastructure,” he says.

Mwasimba says the 300 workers were employed to serve a population of about 50,000. But Thika now has between 400,000 and 500,000 during the day and 150,000 people at night.

“The department is overwhelmed and cannot adequately serve the central business district, residential estates, institutions and markets,” says Mwasimba, thoughtfully.

He adds that besides having few people to do the job, the council has only two vehicles to collect garbage.

“We need six to eight serviceable vehicles but at the moment, we make do with only two that break down often. A garbage truck would cost about Sh10 million, yet even our budget does not reach that figure. We are strained,” he laments.

He says that with the two trucks, they can make 120 trips at their best instead of the ideal 600 trips per day.

“It is tough, the task is tougher, but we are trying,” he says.

“In addition, says Mwasimba, the council’s dumping site has been drastically reduced in size by grabbers.

“We have even had former Government officials claiming that parts of the dumpsite belong to them.”

Thika’s dumpsite is in Kang’oki, near Makongeni estate.

Mwasimba also blames the people for making it difficult for him and his staff to improve the town’s sanitation.

“In some estates, residents have organised themselves in a way that helps us collect garbage with ease. But others are just careless. They throw garbage along lanes and do not care to deposit it in the designated places. Others clog the sewer lines,” says he.

He adds that vandals steal manhole covers every time they are replaced and to avert the problem, the council resorted to using concrete slabs covers; but that is a short-term measure.

“Under constant pressure, the concrete slabs cave in leaving gaping holes which are dangerous to people,” he explains.

Mwasimba says scrap metal dealers, whose trade thrives in the town and its locality, are the biggest saboteurs of the council’s efforts.

The theft has been said to have cost the council millions of shillings. Residents, including roadside car washes, also direct water on to the roads, gradually creating potholes.

Indeed the town is a long way from achieving its past glory as the cleanest in the country.