Garbage firms fight for control of Nairobi estates
What you need to know:
- Recently, the High Court ordered City Hall to allow 22 firms under the Waste and Environment Management Association of Kenya (Wemak) to continue operating in the four city estates.
- The court order reinforced a previous one issued in October, which prohibited the county government from stopping the 22 firms from operating in the area until a petition filed by the association is determined.
- On Monday, the Kenya Alliance of Residents Association (Kara) held a meeting, where its members warned City Hall against forcing the new waste collection system on Nairobians.
A private garbage collection franchise is facing difficulties in establishing itself in Nairobi’s Kilimani, Kangemi, Kileleshwa and Lavington estates.
Sifa Ltd, which was given an exclusive licence to collect garbage in the four estates — Zone 7 — in a pilot project, is locked in a battle for control of the area with old players, leaving residents in confusion.
Recently, the High Court ordered City Hall to allow 22 firms under the Waste and Environment Management Association of Kenya (Wemak) to continue operating in the four city estates.
That was after the city government issued a notice to the companies to cease operations in the estates, from November last year, and give way to Sifa Ltd.
The new entrant wrote to the residents on January 1, requesting for a meeting to discuss terms and conditions and informing them that it had an exclusive three-year contract.
STOP OPERATIONS
In the letter, the company’s general manager, Mr Peter Hongo, advised the residents to stop dealing with other private service providers, saying they had been “notified in time and advised to stop operations”.
The court order reinforced a previous one issued in October, which prohibited the county government from stopping the 22 firms from operating in the area until a petition filed by the association is determined. The hearing is scheduled for March 23.
This has left the residents confused on whether or not to renew contracts with the old players, some of which are about to expire.
The residents, most of whom pay garbage collection fees annually, are not sure if they will be refunded if Sifa takes over.
They are also in the dark over the franchise’s terms, with reports indicating it will charge Sh500 and Sh750 per month for Kilimani and Kileleshwa, respectively, while households in Kangemi will pay Sh150 as prescribed by the county government.
“To date, my rubbish continues to be collected by Bins (Services Ltd) as has been the case for many years,” Mr Andrew Franklin, a resident of one of the affected estates, wrote to Sifa, in response to one of its notices.
RENEW LICENCES
“Your company has already missed two months’ collections and I’m not willing to suffer any disruptions to my existing satisfactory and legal contractual arrangements.”
Last week, Wemak chairman Samuel Onyancha accused City Hall of planning not to renew their licences.
He claimed no company had been issued with a licence for 2015 and that the county’s environment department had threatened to issue the permits to other companies except “four notorious ones” involved in the case.
Mr Onyancha added that the county government was targeting his association’s members by impounding their vehicles to drive them out of business.
On Monday, the Kenya Alliance of Residents Association (Kara) held a meeting, where its members warned City Hall against forcing the new waste collection system on Nairobians. In the new system, the city is divided into zones. A private firm will be licensed to collect garbage in each.
