From Nyambera dumpsite to Etaya Governors Park: Arati's cleanup wins UN-Habitat recognition

Speaking during celebrations held under the theme "From Clean Plates to Clean Cities," Arati said Kisii County could have suffered a similar fate had his administration not acted swiftly to decommission the Nyambera dumpsite, which once sat in the heart of the municipality surrounded by homes, schools and businesses.

"These were not natural disasters. There was no earthquake, no act of God. These were the consequences of warnings ignored, of waste allowed to pile up year after year until the mountain became a grave," Arati said, referencing the August 2024 collapse of the Kiteezi landfill in Kampala, Uganda, which killed 35 people, and the collapse of Conakry's main landfill in Guinea last month, which killed 36.

The event was attended by Environment Cabinet Secretary Dr Deborah Barasa, Correctional Services Principal Secretary Dr Salome Muhia, Broadcasting Principal Secretary Stephen Isaboke, Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakango, NEMA Director General Dr Mamo B. Mamo, and Ishaku Maitumbi, head of UN-Habitat's East and Horn of Africa sub-region.

Arati said Kisii Municipality's population pressures have made waste management increasingly urgent. The town's resident population stood at 200,000 in 2019, but a further 150,000 people stream in daily for markets, healthcare, banking and commerce, with the population projected to hit 500,000 by 2037. The county now generates an estimated 200 tonnes of waste daily, rising further on market days, with roughly 60 per cent of it organic.

The governor said efforts to relocate the dumpsite to Etora in Bobasi and later to Nyatieko in Kitutu Chache South were both met with resident resistance, prompting the county to shift its approach from asking residents to host waste to demonstrating that waste has economic value.

Working with the National Environment Management Authority, the county decommissioned the Nyambera site and converted it into what is now known as Etaya Governors Park, a green recreational space where residents walk, rest and breathe clean air. With support from the United Kingdom Government under the Sustainable Urban Economic Development programme, the county also established a Materials Recovery Facility at the Kisii Agricultural Training Centre, the first of its kind in the region, capable of processing 50 tonnes of waste daily. The facility houses a Black Soldier Fly unit that converts 10 tonnes of organic waste into animal feed and organic fertiliser, and includes a weighbridge to support data-driven policy on waste management.

Arati also highlighted the county's Kazi Mashinani programme, through which about 2,000 men and women are engaged monthly on a rotational basis in cleanup work, drain unclogging and bush clearing. He said the programme is projected to have benefited an estimated 24,000 residents by next year.

The county has acquired truck-mounted skip loaders and colour-coded bins to support waste separation at source, and is finalising by-laws to entrench a circular economy in law. Arati said violators would be prosecuted through the county's Municipal Court, with proceeds reinvested in public education on waste management. He added that the county is also positioning itself to earn carbon credits through organic waste recovery.

The governor invited investors into waste-to-energy, commercial composting, paper manufacturing and recyclables value-addition, saying the county would offer concessions to serious partners. He also appealed to the Kenya Association of Manufacturers and Producer Responsibility Organisations to help establish collection and buy-back centres across the county.

Arati thanked the Office of the Controller of Budget for its support in facilitating county programmes, and said Citizen Television's coverage of the Nyambera transformation had helped draw UN-Habitat's attention to the county.