Kenya: NEMA gives City Hall officials 48-hour ultimatum to fix garbage problem

The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) in Nairobi, Kenya has given City Hall officials a 48-hour ultimatum to fix the garbage problem or be prepared for legal action, according to a news report by Daily Nation.

NEMA took to its Twitter page on Wednesday evening to issue a directive to the Mike Sonko-led administration to clean up the capital within 48 hours.

Nema gives Nairobi County 48 hours to clear all the uncollected solid waste that has littered the city and report on compliance to the Authority within 7 days failure to which officers in charge will be prosecuted @Environment_Ke @NationBreaking @StandardKenya @PeopleDailyKe

— NEMA Kenya (@NemaKenya) March 11, 2020

According to a statement issued on Wednesday, March 11, the authority said county officials might face prosecution if all garbage is not be collected within two days.

"NEMA gives Nairobi County 48 hours to clear all the uncollected solid waste that has littered the city," the statement reads.

The ultimatum comes days after Nairobi garbage collectors protested over non-payment of wages for the last three months.

In the month of February, City Hall had announced that it had signed a one-year renewable contract with the National Youth Service (NYS) to help in garbage collection in the capital but the agreement is yet to come in effect.

The Director-General of NYS has also confirmed this on his Twitter handle.

Had the honor of presiding over the signing of a Memorandum Of Understanding between NYS and the Nairobi City County on solid waste collection,transportation and disposal at the NYS headquarters Nairobi County. pic.twitter.com/HPerperdjR

— NYS Director General (@DG_matilda) February 13, 2020

NEMA has also ordered the closure of the Kisii Nyambera dumpsite for polluting the Nyakomisaro River that drains into Lake Victoria.