Kenya sent a delegation of a whopping 300 representatives to the recent UN climate conference COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland.
With such strong representation, one is expected to take the country seriously on matters climate change and it should be.
It ticks most boxes on green energy. The wind farm in Marsabit and Turkana counties and geothermal plants puts it head and shoulders above many other African countries.
However, Kenya fails miserably on environmental management. Its universal ban on use of plastics rings hollow.
Most of those targeted for harassment are small-scale traders who rely on plastic bags to wrap their products — a policy that is discriminatory as most fruit juice processors and water bottling companies are allowed to use plastic containers and bottles.
But even as ordinary citizens and micro enterprises face the music, the government does little to keep the environment clean from pollutants and garbage, which end up in the waterways and the sea.
Many counties, particularly Mombasa and Nairobi, have failed miserably when it comes to keeping the streets clean despite drawing huge budgets to run operations.
Collection of garbage is non-existent and, if it is ever planned for, it is with no altruistic intention but to generate kickbacks.
Nairobi invested in garbage trucks only recently but the capital city continues to choke in rubbish. The city is not just the CBD — which the authorities seem to focus on — but the entire network of streets and roads within it.
Its public health impact notwithstanding, the garbage mounds have formed part of the welcoming party for tourists together with black crows and flies.
Nowhere is more affected than Mombasa. Even the former head of Kenya Tourism Federation, Mohammed Hersi, had to vent his frustration on Twitter, citing the mess along the road in Likoni.
A major and only land route towards the famous beaches and resorts in South Coast. A city such as Mombasa and its environs, which is Kenya’s main tourist hub, needs to be spotless to appeal to tourists. Most importantly, it needs to be clean to keep the residents healthy. I have never seen Mombasa as dirty as it is.
It is always convenient to blame the residents for dumping garbage, but what are they to do if there are no policies in place or practical solutions offered by the counties to dispose of garbage in an orderly fashion and keep the environment clean? It does not need to be an expensive exercise as it has always been the first solution sought. Neither does it require yearly political gatherings to mock clean a street.
Tidy mind
Cleaning is essential, first for hygiene reasons and, secondly, for beauty. A tidy place equals a tidy mind. No wonder, so many organised religions consider cleaning a very important part of their ritual. Cleanliness is next to Godliness, one hears Christians preach.
Muslims won’t go anywhere near the praying mat without ablution and clean body and clothes. And that is practised five times a day! Some undertaking.
For a quasi-religious country, why live in a filthy environment choking in garbage and lack of sewers and clean water? We have we become blind to the mounds of garbage we walk and drive past every day?
The job of keeping the streets clean belongs to the counties. The county assemblies are mandated to manage garbage collection. I would assume that that is the easiest job in any town — compared to, say, running hospitals and schools. It is also essential work from a public health point of view.
One wonders, then, if the counties cannot see the eyesore that is strewn garbage right in front of their offices and homes, what makes the voters believe they know what happens in hospitals and schools? No wonder, they do not think twice to fire nurses and school children are running riot.
The priority in the counties seems to be enriching the assembly and spending largest portion of county budgets on officials. Does a county with no sewer lines, garbage collection policy, clean water and medicine really require a villa worth millions of shillings for its governor?
The mounting rubbish in the streets is not the failure of counties alone but also the leadership in the national government led by the two parliaments.
The latter have been resolute not to retire without their allowances and medical insurance, which, coupled with their huge salaries, one is left to think the 12th bicameral Parliament has worked hard to deserve all that and leaving a clean and pristine country in their wake after the end of the term.
Insecurity, dirty streets, mess in education, poor public health and high unemployment is what we are paying for.
We are in a huge mess literally, both financially and hygiene-wise, because politicians assume they are answerable to their parties and not voters. Until voters decide to hold their leaders accountable on service delivery, they will continue living messy lives.
Perhaps, 2022 is the time to decide to vote in people based on what they have truly done for the voters other than paying lip service to innumerable promises. BY DAILY NATION