A spot check at our residential areas reveals a shocking discovery

A spot check in one of our residential areas, Kasarani, reveals a shocking discovery. Surprisingly, dirt is the order of the day and any angle you turn will, without doubt, show a filthy environment. The middle class residential areas that are supposed to be flourishing with high levels of cleanliness are gradually turning into slums.

This is not surprising at all. The body responsible for waste management, particularly the City County of Nairobi, has its guns pointed in the wrong directions. Its key objective is lost and the companies that collect waste from these residential areas are fully taking advantage of the situation. Some even charge high rates when the quality of work done is low. Again, some relentlessly delay the dispatch of plastic bags where the garbage is to be kept.

Moreover, the blame is not just on those who collect the garbage only. You won’t miss to find, on any day, a person dumping wastes outside their homes in any of these areas. What I'm not sure of is whether these people do this on purpose or they lack the knowledge of having a clean environment. And this kind of behavior is most common in areas where waste collection is seldom.

If this continues and goes on unchecked, Kibera and Mathare won’t be the only big slum areas in Nairobi. In less than 10 years, more residential areas could be declared slums. Perhaps responsible living must be accompanied by responsible people.