Friends, We paid a Courtesy Call on Unep- Kenya Country Programme this morning at the UN Gigiri and we joined in a discussion with Mr. Henry Ndede and Mr. Moses Mbego on Waste Management in Kenya and beyond. You will remember Mr. Mbego did attend The 1st and the 2nd Consultative Meeting on Waste Management that we hosted at Charter Hall and KICC. We were also joined by Ms Catherine Mwangi from Merck Millipore East Africa. I was accompanied by our Finance and Administration Officer Mr. Henry Jack K'Ongogo.  This is Nairobi and it is a reflection of our Cities across Kenya
In what is turning out to be a Tale of Our Cities, and this was amply captured by Mr. Ndede, Garbage is running amok. There has been little effort put in place to help manage Waste in our Metropolis. We have only been engaged in shifting Waste and Garbage from one place to the next and calling that Waste Management, and then conferencing a lot on the same. To help us focus on this, and we will be focusing on the Three Major Cities in Kenya- Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu, the Unep Team under Mr. Ndede have developed an Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan that has already been shared with Dr Gov Evans Kidero of Nairobi for his intervention. There has also been contact made with Mr. Jack Ranguma- the Kisumu County Governor while plans are in place for a meeting with Gov Hassan Joho of Mombasa. To help us move this process forward as we celebrate our Silver Jubilee on the 1st June 2013, we want to move with speed and put in place interim measures that will help us remove all the offensive waste and garbage from our neighbourhoods even as we plan for sustainable measures to help handle the same. We at The Clean Africa Campaign are looking at the Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan by the Unep and we will be inviting partnerships that can help implement the same immediately in consultations with the Governors of Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu. We will be inviting them to immediately overhaul the Departments of Environment in Nairobi and Mombasa and replace the current teams with teams that will be committed to service delivery and results. The current teams managing waste in Nairobi and Mombasa have developed some thick skins and for them, they would rather the status quo remained. They are busy thinking of 2020 at a time Nairobi and Mombasa need some immediate interventions. They have failed to make our Cities Clean and for them, it is time to ship out, not to shape up. They have failed to shape up for so long.  Kenyans are ready and willing to play their part. We only need Leadership
Secondly, we will be inviting a Stakeholders Forum on Waste Management on the 24th April 2013 at the Unep in Nairobi where the Waste End Users will share on the way forward. These End Users can get in touch with me to enable us plan well for the said meeting. We will then thereafter invite a meeting with the Waste Collectors to discuss the Way forward. The end result will be a Massive Onslaught on Waste and Garbage in Nairobi in the Month of May that will drastically reduce and/or remove Waste and Garbage from our Streets, neighbourhoods and Road sides. Lastly, we will be inviting all Kenyans to join in the Process of Separation of Waste at Source. It is surprising that Kenya is spending Billions of Shilling in treating opportunistic diseases at a time when proper Waste Management can actually reduce these costs drastically. We must make clear choices as Kenyans as we move forward. Our Towns and Cities will not become Clean just by themselves. In Mali, they are harvesting Human urine and making good use of the same. In Kigali, we can all see what focused Leadership can achieve. It will hence need some collective efforts where the professionals will have to stand out and be counted, the Partners will hove to step forward and play their part and the Citizens must rise to the occasion. In all these, the leadership of the Governors will be put to test. Is it business as usual as we approach the Silver Jubilee, or, can we all join hands in making a difference? Peace and blessings as we work for a Clean Kenya, a Clean Africa and a Better World. Odhiambo T Oketch, Executive Director, The Clean Africa Campaign-TCAC, Nairobi Kenya.
The Clean Africa Campaign is an Initiative of KCDN Kenya. | 
This is Nairobi and it is a reflection of our Cities across Kenya
Kenyans are ready and willing to play their part. We only need Leadership
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