Mombasa Nema director in the spotlight – Weekly Citizen

Coast regional coordinator John Elungata has demanded for immediate answers from National Environment Management Authority Mombasa county director Stephen Wambua over illegal dumping of garbage in the port city.
Recently, while addressing departmental heads in his Uhuru na Kazi offices in Mombasa, an angry Elungata demanded for the arrest and prosecution of Nema director, accusing him of laxity and ineffectiveness following his failure to enforce the law and close down the illegal VOK dumpsite which is a health hazard to residents.

Coast regional coordinator John Elungata

He demanded to know why heaps of garbage were still at the site even after Mombasa county government had been directed to close the dumping site with immediate effect following public outcry.
Wambua boasts to be close to Nema director general Geoffery Wahugu for whom he runs errands in the coastal region. Wambua collects millions from foreign and local investors to facilitate certificate issuance. A British firm involved in gas with blessings of powerful forces in Jubilee was awarded Nema certificate to operate in suspicious circumstances.
A few weeks ago, two garbage collection and disposal lorries belonging to one of the private garbage collection firms were confiscated by Nema after they were caught dumping waste at the site, but released almost immediately following a call from a certain businessman said to be the kingpin who controls waste collection and management sector in Mombasa.
Environmentalists including members of Clean Mombasa CBO have persistently been calling on Mombasa county government and Nema to close down the VOK dumpsite since it is located within a residential area.
Muinga Chokwe, Clean Mombasa chairman had even camped at the site one time as he called on relevant authorities to close down the dumping site.

Nema director general Geoffrey Wahungu

Residents living around the site have also been complaining of various health problems including skin diseases and chest pains as a result of pollution caused by heaps of garbage encroaching into their houses and the busy highway.
“This dark smelly smoke from this dump site is killing us. Let our government come and help us because we are suffering,”, Anna Katana, a resident said.
The perennial problem of poor waste management in Mombasa is seen as a serious health hazard across the county putting the compromised Nema on warpath with stakeholders including environmentalists and Elungata.
According to environment expert Benson Wemali, garbage disposal sites are required to operate in environmentally sound manner to ensure proper and modern management of solid waste.
“Waste within the disposal sites shall be treated in accordance with all the relevant legislation to ensure that such waste does not present any imminent and substantial danger to public health, the environment and natural resources,” Wemali points out.
Domestic waste constitutes a large proportion of solid waste generated in Mombasa on a daily basis according to Nema with households generating waste based on consumption patterns.
The common types of domestic waste include kitchen waste, packaging materials and used items.
Waste transportation and its coordination according to Nema remains a challenge to most cities and urban centres resulting to instances of uncollected waste and accumulation at source as well as illegal dumping.
To date Mombasa and Kenya in general lacks a modern sanitary landfill for proper solid waste management.
Open dumping therefore remains as the major mode of solid waste disposal in major cities, towns and urban centres. This poses health risks to both human and animals.