Why garbage crisis is hot potato for Joho and team

Overflowing garbage bins have become a common sight in the coastal city of Mombasa.

Residents have raised the red flag that accumulated waste put them at risk of health problems.

Some critics believe the uncollected garbage partly fueled the recent cholera outbreak in which seven people died and dozens hospitalised.

Efforts to clean up the city have largely failed, with garbage heaps common in the central business district and many residential areas.

Consequently, the authorities have launched a day and night clean-up exercise as a spillover of garbage was reported throughout the county.

Plans to build a recycling plant have also not materialised. The county has thus approached experts in Germany, France and Italy to help develop sustainable waste management concepts.

In Kongowea for instance, the Uwanja wa Mbuzi garbage heap has been overflowing with waste for nearly four months.

Thomas Odhiambo, a local, said such poor sanitary conditions present serious environmental and public health risks.

 “For four months, we witnessed tractors that came to gather the garbage into a huge mountain and leave. The smell is awful,” Odhiambo lamented.

Another resident, Bosco Juma, a director at Big Ship Community Based Organisation, said the illegal dumpsite at Kibarani along the Makupa creek is an eyesore and a threat to humans, mangrove and fish.

“It is of greater concern that fishing activities take place in the area with such high levels of chemical and solid waste that is managed through burning. This could pose a health risk to human consuming such fish through bio-magnification and bio-accumulation of the chemical substance,” said Juma.

Big Ship chairman Akullah Khamis has urged the county government to develop a clear policy on solid and liquid waste management that can ensure effective enforcement and convince donors to support its management programme.

Private firm

In his first term, Governor Hassan Joho transferred waste management function from the Water and Sanitation Department to waste management function from the Water and Sanitation Department to Education.

The governor contracted a private firm to clear garbage at the cost of Sh300 million a year but the agreement was terminated because it was costly and unsustainable.

To rid the country’s tourism hub of garbage, Governor Joho has created the department of Environment and Waste Management.

Joho said his administration will develop and enforce strategies and policies regarding waste collection and management.

He has given the Executive member, Dr Godfrey Nyongesa Nato, a strong warning to “put on gloves” and clear the garbage or face impeachment if he fails to deliver.

“You should put on gloves and clear the garbage. The people of Mombasa want nothing short of service delivery. You do not have a choice,” Joho told the CEC immediately after being sworn-in.

Besides solid waste management, the county has also been grappling with an old and inadequate sewerage system leading to poor management of liquid waste in the city. There are reports of raw waste discharge into the sea while many areas are yet to be covered with sewers.

Last week, county Secretary Francis Thoya and Dr Nato supervised removal of mounds of trash in what appeared to be a knee-jerk operation. Thoya explained that equipment breakdown and displays in disbursement of funds from the national government had caused the latest hiccups in prompt action to clear the heaps.

Solid waste operations cost about Sh1 billion a year while liquid waste management consumes Sh500 million in the county of about 1.2 million people. The county generates about 1,500 tonnes of solid waste daily. Mr Thoya has argued that the county has inherited an old liquid waste system on Mombasa Island and Kipevu area in the west mainland from the defunct Mombasa municipal council which requires funds for upgrade.

He said the county government had explored the possibility of setting up a garbage recycling plant but the venture proved expensive.

An initiative to strike a deal with Larfage Group, which owns Bamburi Cement Factory, to convert garbage into low cost electricity for its operations did not materialise after the firm established that the waste was below capacity for its sustainable operations.

Thoya said they intend to zone the county and invite key stakeholders to manage garbage in various areas through outsourcing arrangement.

The county was also looking into conversion of bio-gradable waste into energy in the future.

Former Deputy Governor Ms Hazel Katana has weighed in on the garbage menace and blamed the department of laxity.

“I believe the county has adequate staff and equipment but there is poor supervision. There are always excuses of vehicle breakdowns and lack of fuel,” Ms Katana explained.