Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has called out Governor Johnson Sakaja over a neglected dumpsite within the county that has left residents grappling with a hazardous environment.
In a statement, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Party Secretary General claimed that the dumpsite has been left unattended due to delayed payments of garbage contractors by the Nairobi County government.
Senator Sifuna also shared a video of the dumpsite as he called out the governor.
“The Residents of Umoja Innercore are living a nightmare. Garbage has not been collected from this spot since September because the garbage contractors have not been paid,” said Sifuna.
In the video seen by The Kenya Times, huge heaps of garbage can be seen stuffed in a large piece of land which is in between residential settlements.
Sifuna calls out Sakaja
Sifuna further posed a question in his statements asking people to judge by their own view if “it is working” in an indirect reference to Sakaja’s slogan of “Lazima Iwork” which means “It must work”.
“On your own view, is it working?” he posed.
The Senator has been a huge critic of governor Sakaja’s leadership since he was elected to office during the 2022 General elections.
Also Read: Sifuna Poses 4 Questions to Sakaja Regarding Uhuru Park
A section of Kenyans online reacted to the video, with a majority calling out the governor for the neglected dumpsite.
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Fredrick Karanja, an X user, reacted, “What is the work of Governor Sakaja? You do not mind the lives of Nairobians. We need a proper hygiene from your county government. We voted for you to work, not to mistreat the Nairobians.”
Another user named Peter Nguyo claimed that tippers and forklifts depart from the Jogoo road-stadium road waste management station daily and are full of smelly waste all day long.
“How comes Umoja Innercore residents are struggling with such, or cartels are at work?” he posed.
Another user reacted by claiming that waste management is a major disaster in Nairobi.
According to him, this has been as a result of lack of proper policies and measures and lack of enough landfills by the County government to mitigate garbage in the city.
“As a player in this industry I can say the county government is a major impediment in handling this matter,” he added.
Climate Change campaigns
Also, Simon Plumb called out the County government claiming that it has been on the frontline of campaigns on Solid Waste Management urging the leaders to practice what they sell during campaigns.
Also Read: Sakaja’s Office Tops World Bank Special Global Ranking
Interestingly, Sakaja’s office was in December 2023 named as the best green government office on the continent at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 28) Summit in Dubai after a study by the World Bank.
Additionally, findings from the World Bank study ranked Sakaja’s office as 100% less embodied in carbon materials, 23% on water and 28% on energy savings.
“The certification of the Nairobi City County Governor’s office as the first International Finance Corporation Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (IFC EDGE) Green Government Office makes it the first IFC EDGE Green Government office in Africa,” the World Bank noted.
