The promise of a clean Nairobi might soon be a reality after Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja partnered with the ongoing short rains to help clean up the city.
Speaking after signing the deal, Sakaja said that the heaps of garbage that have been choking the city will soon be wiped off by runoff water into the Nairobi River, and long term into the India Ocean.
“We are partnering with nature to do the necessary. The rains usually do a good job and they do not send us an invoice. They also do not take the garbage to Dandora, but sweep everything outside the city. This is our strategic partner.”
Waste Problem
Nairobi’s waste management problem has been a thorn in the flesh for all the past administrations. While all past leaders know that there can be no lasting solution that does not involve a behavior change by Nairobians, they also know that garbage is a cash cow that can be exploited to amass strategic cash reserves for the next campaigns.
“Unless Nairobians stop littering, there is no way the city can be clean. It would cost too much. The solution is to work on a behavior change program that can discourage littering, but this is tedious and takes too long. We’ll just continue doing things the way they have been done before and hope for different results.”
Innovative Approach
On paper, it seems like the rains can clean up Nairobi. However, Sakaja will have an uphill task convincing the rains not to block the drainage channels first. Should this happen, Nairobians will have a twin problem of floods and garbage.
