Raw sewage is still flowing freely in the streets of Kisii Town despite county officials on Friday saying it had fixed blocked and broken pipes in the sewerage system.
On Sunday morning, traders woke up to a river of effluent along the Daraja Mbili Market and have vowed to stop paying taxes to the county if the problem is not fixed.
FILTH
“Our businesses have suffered great losses because customers avoid our shops due to the filth,” said Ms Ann Kerubo, a worker in one of the shops along the Daraja Mbili route.
Also, the sewage water gets into the Daraja Mbili Market, one of the largest open-air markets in the region.
Traders said their pleas to have the sewage system fixed to avoid leakage, especially during the rainy season, often fall on deaf ears.
“We now need a permanent solution. It is even a health hazard to us. Soon we might have disease outbreaks that will require the county to spend more money to control,” she said.
On Friday, angry residents vented their anger on Twitter with the hashtag #KisiiSewageMenace.
Apart from the Daraja Mbili Road sewage menace, effluent has been draining directly in River Nyakomisaro, which connects to rivers Riana and Gucha that drain into Lake Victoria.
BLAME GAME
Residents also took issue with county government officials for politicising the problem by claiming those blocking the sewage pipes were out to taint the county administration.
They told the devolved unit to stop blame games and fix the problem.
In a statement on Friday, Deputy County Communication Director Kenan Miruka said: “The blockage can be attributed to sabotage by political elements keen on portraying and tainting the name of the County Government because the items retrieved include bags, rock boulders, tyres and tree stumps.”
Mr Miruka said another major problem is owners of private exhausters who dump liquid waste into manholes within Kisii Town at night, yet they are supposed to dump it at the last manhole near the wastewater treatment works in Suneka.
Other causes of blockage include dumping of plastic bags into the sewer line, vandalism of manhole concrete slab covers for use in bathrooms, and building owners who discharge liquid waste directly into open drains, he said.
Mr Miruka said the County Government is working on a multidisciplinary approach to address the problem. He also urged residents to stop dumping waste into rivers.