The Nairobi Rivers Commission has enumerated the strides it has made as it spruces the heavily polluted basin.
The commission says the multi-agency operation for cleaning up of the Nairobi Rivers Basin comprising of Mathare, Nairobi and Ngong rivers is bearing positive results.
Commission CEO Brigadier (Rtd) Joseph Muracia said the incorporation of Climate WorX programme has bolstered the efforts.
Muracia was earlier suspended from office on January 14 over allegations of gross misconduct, corruption and nepotism but has since been reinstated.
“The initiative utilises a labor-intensive approach using the principles of transitional employment to ensure the participating youth pivot to their next ideal work opportunity or education opportunity through economic empowerment and training,” Muracia said.
He said the programme continues and will concentrate on a number of activities.
The activities include river draining, deepening and widening, river banks protection works, access roads and footpaths improvements, recreation areas (playgrounds) and community parks, construction of vehicular and footbridges, area lighting along the river corridor, and Enforcement against environmental pollution.
The Climate WorX resilience initiative is an employment transition programme for the youth in Kenya aimed at fostering climate resilience and economic recovery by engaging the unemployed in Nairobi.
In Nairobi, the works are taking place in the reclaimed 47km riparian land within Nairobi Rivers Basin (Mathare, Nairobi and Ngong Rivers) and extended to other upstream sub-counties where riparian evacuation is yet to take place.
About 21,000 young people have been employed for the last three months, along the reclaimed riparian land in the three rivers.
Muracia said the move has had a very positive economic impact to the workers who have been recruited from the riverine communities within which the rivers follow.
The multi-agency operation which is being spearheaded by the Ministry of Interior and National Coordination, is being coordinated by the commission.
Muracia said that from November 1, 2024 when the programme started, it has concentrated on a number of activities along the riparian.
The activities include solid waste collection and segregation, unclogging of the rivers and drainage systems, sorting of debris, clearance of illegal dump sites, leveling of playgrounds and landscaping, establishment of tree nurseries and potting of seedlings.
Others include trunk sewer line rehabilitation and re-connection and channeling of overflowing sewers.
Under the programme, about
530,000 tree seedlings have been
germinated and potted for planting
in the future.
