President William Ruto seems so keen on reclaiming Nairobi River, that flowing sewage that has over tens of years meandered across the city, leaving a terrible smell across its path.
The President has even formed a whole commission in charge of cleaning Nairobi River, moving around in guzzlers and claiming hefty allowances.
This is not the first time the government is purporting to reclaim and clean Nairobi River. Mwai Kibaki tried. Then came Uhuru Kenyatta. And now William Ruto.
None of the past two presidents ever managed to clean Nairobi River. The more they come with their textbook solutions, the more filthy the river becomes.
The government, in their wisdom, has said that Nairobi River is dirty because of the communities living closer to it. That might be true, but that is not even a third of the problems facing Nairobi River.
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Nairobi River cannot be cleaned because of five major reasons, and as long as these reasons are not addressed, it will always be a pipe dream.
First, many in government see the cleaning of Nairobi River as an avenue to loot public funds. Millions are being allocated towards the “cleaning” but in reality, the millions are cleaning personal banks. They claim to want to clean the river from the comfort of their powerful offices and the rooftops of their powerful guzzlers. It cannot work.
Second, the drainage in Nairobi is pathetic and only a mad man can claim that it is okay. Nairobi does not have a functional drainage system. When it rains, every part of the city is a potential river. Someone said that Nairobi relied on evaporation as a solution for its drainage menace.
Third, Nairobi sewer line is terrible. All major apartments release their raw sewage directly into the Nairobi River. All the high-end apartments, offices, and companies release their waste and sewage into the Nairobi River. The river cannot be fixed without first fixing the sewer lines within the city. Once the sewer lines are fixed, the rest can follow.
Fourth, the slums around the river have hugely contributed to the filthiness of the Nairobi River. It is an uphill task to move these people because the majority of them have stayed along this river for tens of years. Unless we borrow from Ferdinand Waititu and change the cause of the river, then cleaning it will always be a dream. It will not happen.
Fifth, Nairobi still lacks designated dumping sites. The ones available are overwhelmed and cannot handle the garbage from households, markets, and companies. In one way or another, this garbage often finds its way into the Nairobi River. We cannot clean that river without solving the garbage problem in Nairobi.
President William Ruto and the people around him should stop wasting our taxes in the name of cleaning Nairobi River. That money can as well be donated to the next church that the President will be attending but cleaning Nairobi River is a pipe dream.
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