Nairobians should help clean Nairobi

During the UNCTAD 14th conference several participators raised the Nairobi County government for keeping the city very clean. After this I did a survey in several down town streets and realized that most of the back streets and major roundabouts such globe and racecourse are dumping city, confirming from the County Chief officer Eng Christine Ogut that most of this garbage are dumped at night by lorries with the number plates blocked.

She confirmed that the county government has several tracks and a contractor to collect the garbage, but they are not enough due to the irresponsible behavior of Nairobians to dump anywhere.

It is in this regards that Rotary Club of Madaraka has partnered with Nairobi county government to clean up and rehabilitate racecourse roundabout on 20th of August. When Visitors and tourists come to Nairobi, they should find one striking difference in contrast with other African Capitals and Countries.  They should exclaim how clean Nairobi is, in all streets and roundabouts not only the uptown.

 Governor Kidero introduced a monthly cleanup day and would be more effective if it would involve all the stakeholders such as business community, street families and matatu industry. His government should introduce Nairobi day to clean the town and its environment.  Kigali is clean because of the concept of Umuganda day let us embrace the same in our city.

The concept that is very African and Umuganda is similar in concept to our own Swahili word Harambee where the village comes together to get the job done.  In Rwanda it was common as in other African societies to call on family, friends, and neighbors for a difficult task to be done.

On Saturday morning – the traffic stops, stores are closed, even visitors and all able bodied Rwandans pitch in, the streets are cleaned, drainage and ditches dug anywhere there is a need, and there are a hundred, eager helping hands doing their part to make Rwanda cleaner.

Littering is not something done here, plastic bags are illegal and confiscated at the point of entry into Rwanda, and you are kindly admonished to walk on the grass.  The well-maintained and grassy roundabouts are places where newlyweds have their pictures taken.

  There are not many African cities where you will see that scene replicated. Kidero’s grass has grown extremely well and this should be embraced in all streets and roundabouts.

Our economy losses billions in traffic jams every day, Nairobians should start a concept of free car day either walk or use bicycles to their various destinations. The Hindu community uses carpooling as a means of transport to their places work, Nairobians should be encouraged to car pool or use buses, and this will reduce traffic jam and environment pollution.

You can drive your car less and acquire other means of transportation instead. Many countries recommend repairing of leaking air condition of your car that adversely destroys the upper layer of ozone atmosphere. You must also be careful while filling your car with gas and see that it does not spills off the tank. You can also use motor oil which is energy-efficient.

Nairobians, we do not need International aid to keep our backyard clean it’s our duty not the county or national government to clean our environment, let us be responsible on our garbage disposal. It’s in this regard that the rotary club of Madaraka shall start this exercise to clean up our beautiful city; this will save millions of shillings through volunteer work.

Singapore keeps the city clean with tough laws, in Kigali, Rwanda it is a pride, a patriotic duty and Umuganda Day that keeps the city and country clean. We should try not to throw away trash or waste materials almost anywhere in and around our streets.

Nairobians must try to dispose biodegradable as well as non-biodegradable wastes in a proper way and avoid littering it all over your home environment. Any excess air or water pollution can negatively affect our health while destroying the entire environment globally.

It is always a better option to reduce the usage of contaminants and toxic materials at home. A healthy environment begins from our homes. We must also take care to dispose all the waste material in a proper way; we can simply dispose them off in the bins. Many waste products like glass, plastics, aluminum and paper can be recycled instead of been disposed in the dustbin. This will prevent any air pollution accumulated on burning these products. We can also use reusable towels and reusable bags rather than using disposable plastics bags.

We can buy appliances that are not only environment friendly but energy efficient too. One of the best ways to conserve electricity is by switching off all the lights and appliances when not in use. You can wash your clothes in a washing machine using both warm and cold water instead of using hot water. Try solar power for heating water instead of an electrical appliance.

As Nairobians, we can play the right role to control maximum pollution by starting from your home. We can discover different ways to keep the environment clean, green and healthy. Let us bring back the lost clean city of Nairobi.