Stinking mess as garbage piles up in Nyeri County

Garbage collection services have ground to a halt in various towns in Nyeri County for the past week with reports that the county government had run out funds to fuel lorries that provide the vital service.

Residents of Nyeri, Karatina, Othaya, and Naromoru towns, among others, have lodged complaints that garbage has gone uncollected for the past week, making the area inhabitable.

Shop owners at Karatina Town complained about the uncollected piles of garbage in front of their shops.

Mr John Mwangi said this is not the first time that garbage has been dumped there, blocking the entrance to his shop.

“Every time the trash is not collected, residents use the front of my shop as a dump site where all sorts of rubbish are piled up and go uncollected for days,” he complained.

The garbage is a health hazard and the stench drives customers away.

Mr Mwangi added that he is forced to pay private contractors to remove the garbage when the county government fails to collect it.

Mr James Wachihi, the acting County Executive Committee member for Public Service, did not respond to our queries about the situation. 

He did not pick calls or respond to text messages.

However, sources within the Department of Public Service, under which garbage collection falls, said the county government has run out of cash and the National Treasury is yet to release funds meant for operations.

Residents have urged Governor Mutai Kahiga and the Nyeri County government to expedite the collection of the garbage.