Governor Mike Sonko launches monthly cleaning in Nairobi

Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko on Saturday launched a monthly cleaning campaign.

Dressed in a reflective jacket, a mask and gloves, Mr Sonko launched the initiative, with the theme “My waste, My responsibility”, at Kayole North Primary School.

The cleaning, which would be happening every first Saturday of the month, took place across Nairobi’s 85 wards. It was led by ward administrators.

“This is not a public relations stunt. I went to Rwanda’s capital Kigali as soon as I was sworn into office and borrowed the idea,” Mr Sonko said.

A statement from the county government said the clean-up is aimed at emulating Rwanda “and other countries which have achieved environmental gains through such measures”.

PUBLIC TOILETS
In a speech broadcast on his Facebook page, Mr Sonko said Nairobi residents would no longer pay to use public toilets.

“The toilets belong to the county government. If the tender has elapsed, let people and ward representatives sit and agree to register youths who will maintain them,” the governor told a cheering crowd.
He added that the devolved government would improve garbage collection.

“We produce 2,500 tonnes of garbage every day yet we can only collect 2,000 tonnes,” he said.

Environment executive Larry Wambua said Nairobi residents have embraced the exercise.

CLEAN ENVIRONMENT
“The turnout in all wards has been very impressive. This shows that city residents want to live in a safe and clean environment,” Mr Wambua told journalists.

“The clean-up will be continuous. We want to have a culture of people being conscious to the fact that they need to be in a clean environment and that it is their responsibility to keep the surroundings clean.”

Mr Sonko’s Facebook page was awash with images from many estates where the clean-up took place.

The areas include Deep Sea in Parklands, Kitisuru, Marurui, Lang’ata Road and Njiru.