Kisumu residents have been urged to take an active role in maintaining the cleanliness of the city as the county intensifies efforts to improve waste management and beautification projects.
With a vision to become the cleanest city in Kenya, Kisumu is making strides in improving its environment and officials have urged residents to play a vital role in these initiatives.
Kisumu City Manager Abala Wanga, emphasised the importance of proper waste disposal to ensure public spaces remain clean and functional.
Every Friday, city teams are deployed to inspect and clean hotspot areas to maintain the overall cleanliness.
“We have almost 200 dustbins strategically placed within the city to encourage proper waste disposal. However, keeping Kisumu clean requires collective responsibility, and we are asking residents to play their part,” Wanga said.
He addressed concerns about the management of some parks. He said some parks, such as Oile Park, have fallen short of the standards expected, prompting the county to intervene and raise the bar.
“We’ve received complaints about waste management and park conditions, so we’re now working on improving them. We’ve entrusted some parks to private owners, but we must supervise their management. We’ve found damaged cabros and interfered with grass and flowers, so we’re focusing on raising standards.”
He underscored the importance of restoring the aesthetic value, with plans to plant more flowers and trees to enhance the environment.
John Sunday, an official from the county’s city department, explained that their weekly rounds focus on monitoring the progress of beautification efforts, including flower planting and park maintenance.
“Our priority is to make Kisumu the cleanest city in the country. Currently, we are ranked third, but we aim to be number one,” Sunday said.
He also highlighted ongoing upgrades at the Jomo Kenyatta Sports Ground, where the county has partnered with private entities to enhance park management through Public-Private Partnerships.
“We are committed to ensuring that when people visit the parks, they can use them comfortably, sit, relax and attend functions in well-maintained spaces. Our goal is to continuously improve park services and raise them to the highest standard,” Sunday added.
The county has also conducted cleanliness drives at prominent spots like the Kisumu Sports Ground and Kondele, where they carried out site inspections to identify future improvement opportunities.
