Mombasa County complies with order to shut illegal dumping site
Heaps of Garbage at the VOK dumpsite months after it was shut down by the County Government of Mombasa.
Mombasa County has complied with a national government directive to deal with the heaps of garbage choking the tourism hub.
Last week, the Ministry of Environment ordered Governor Hassan Joho's administration to close illegal dumping sites on Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) land and set up proper waste yards.
The city has been grappling with the crisis following the closure of Kibarani, the oldest dumpsite in the county.
Environment Executive Geoffrey Nato said the devolved unit has begun clearing garbage from the dumpsite.
“We had cleared garbage but KBC failed to secure the land by erecting a perimeter wall and people started dumping garbage. But we will clear the garbage and we hope this time they will fence that property,” said Dr Nato.
Despite the county’s strict rules on illegal dumping, including a Sh500,000 to Sh1,000,000 fine depending on the quantity of the garbage, haphazard dumping still goes on.
Last year, the county contemplated privatising garbage collection in the city.
Environment Chief Administrative Secretary Mohamed Elmi asked the national broadcaster to put up a wall around the property to curb waste dumping.
“We are here to resolve the dumping of garbage on this KBC land. It’s an environmental hazard that needs to be sorted out. We must find solutions to environmental challenges. It’s unacceptable that in the middle of the residential area we have an illegal dumping site,” said Mr Elmi.
KBC managing director Dr Naim Bilal and National Environmental Complaints Committee chairman Dr Justry Nyaberi also urged the county government to deal with illegal waste dumping on the government land.
Dr Bilal pledged that contractors will erect a perimeter fence around the land to protect it.
Mr Benson Wemali, a certified environmental inspector, described the garbage problem as a serious crisis that causes pollution and respiratory diseases.
He urged the authorities to form a fully fledged team to deal with the garbage.
“The county is using the old system to deal with waste. Globally, people have embraced modernity in dealing with waste. In Mombasa, the county is collecting garbage using trucks and dumping it in Mwakirunge, which is almost full,” he said.
