President William Ruto has thrown another ambitious plan in the pipeline as he has vowed to clean the squalid Nairobi River in a year.....CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
Speaking at the launch of the Nairobi River Regeneration Project in Korogocho, Nairobi on Thursday, Ruto stated that the cleaning will be done in phases, with the first phase set to begin on October 1 and employing 20,000 youth.
President Ruto also stated that youths from Korogocho and surrounding areas will be given priority over those from further away.
“In one year’s time, we want Nairobi River to change. The whole section along Nairobi river is going to be divided and we will ensure that there will be people at every stage,” he said.
“Our youth have an opportunity to contribute to the improvement of our environment.”
This ambitious plan, Ruto added, will further be expanded in other major cities in Kenya which will employ more young people.
“Building on this foundation we will extend the program to the four major cities. Kisumu, Mombasa, Eldoret and Nakuru within one month. And an additional 40,000 will be engaged with 10,000 of them allocated to other areas of Nairobi starting early November,” noted Ruto.
The first-in-command also issued a stern warning to polluters who enjoy dumping their waste in the city river, warning of dire consequences if anyone is caught doing so.
“If you are going to be polluting the river you must prepare to make sure that you are held to account and you pay for it so that we can keep the rivers clean and everybody becomes responsible for their behaviour.”
This plan comes almost two years after the government established the Nairobi Rivers Commission which was tasked to “reclaim the rivers of Nairobi as a spine to the city’s blue and green infrastructure for a better urban environment and quality of life.” as quoted by President Ruto in a gazette notice.
Other roles of the commission included coordinating activities of various players mandated to engage in the rehabilitation, protection, restoration, beautification and sustainable development of the riverine basin within Nairobi City County.
They were also handed the role of monitoring compliance with the laws and regulations governing the environment of the Basin and its catchment areas as well as developing codes of conduct and proposing modalities for enforcement in partnership with the relevant stakeholders.
The Commission members shall hold office for three years renewable once based on performance.
According to the Gazette Notice, the Commission shall be financed through funding appropriated for the Commission’s use by the National Government and the Nairobi City County Government as well as donations….CLICK HERE FOR MORE ARTICLE>>>
