Nairobi River cleanup exercise to start this month, says commission

The areas of operation will include Nairobi, Kiambu, Kajiado, Machakos and Makueni counties.

"This will be followed by a publicity campaign and a community sensitisation programme, and developing a community engagement framework," said Mumo Musuva, a commissioner.

Other tasks will be to provide waste-collection bins, trucks and skip bins for garbage collection to carry waste from informal settlements and residential areas and train communities and actors on the NRC programmes and projects.

"Activities will include establishing waste handling centres; waste-bins, transfer recycling facilities in informal settlements along the rivers, continuous monitoring of the rivers for illegal dumping and sewer disposal, enforcement of existing environmental laws and regulations," said Musuva.

Others are to establish a 24/7 Joint Multi Agency Operations Center for monitoring and operations, catchment protection and restoration, riparian mapping, resource mobilisation, and initiate National Environment Day for Cleaning and Garbage (Waste) Collection.

Rapid response

Also to be established is an NRC-Rapid Response Team within water utility companies to tackle sewage spillage into rivers.

Training and capacity building for effective working relationships, ensuring 100 per cent commitment through stakeholders' participation for effectiveness and efficiency, developing a community engagement framework to win the populace and local support, and working with River-line communities and stakeholders as first-line soldiers for this operation will form part of the activities.

"The commission also plans to work with all national and county governments, ministries, State Departments and Agencies, United Nations (UN), civil society, private actors and well-wishers to achieve our vision of having 'A Clean and Healthy Nairobi Rivers Transformation and Climate Resilient Development," said Musuva.

Major actors in the operations, he said, will be the national and county governments. Regulatory bodies will include the Water Resources Authority, National Youth Service, Athi Water Works Development Agency, National Environment Management Authority and Kenya National Highways Authority.