Kisumu continues to wallow in heaps of garbage despite the provision of Sh800 million by the French government to address the problem.
Residents are now raising concern over the failure by the county government to relocate the Kachok dumpsite which has become a menace to businesses and locals.
James Omote who works at the Kisumu School for the Mentally Handicapped which is a few meters away from the site said they have had to put up with the foul stench and flies emanating from the dumpsite.
“Our offices and classrooms are always full of flies and sometime we cannot work with the windows open because of the gases and foul smell," he told this writer.
"A number of students have always complained of persistent stomach aches and malaria as the dumpsite is a breeding ground for mosquitoes."
Francis Onyango who resides at Polyview estate adjacent to the dumpsite raised concern over the increasing insecurity in their neighborhood.
He said the place is now inhabited by street families and gangs who break into their homes.
“The town is not just filthy, it is also unsafe,” he said adding that they now fear of a potential disease outbreak as a result of filth,”
The Kisumu Youth Football Association Manager Kevin Obware said the ugly scenery of garbage scattered all over and sometime inside Moi Stadium has hampered sporting activities.
“We are always forced to look for alternative grounds especially during the rainy seasons like now when it floods and the contaminated water from the dumpsite runs into the grounds. Whenever the garbage is being burnt, the visibility at the stadium is adversely affected from the smoke that emanates from the site,” he said.
With heaps of garbage continuing to dominate the larger parts of the town, the county government’s apparent laxity to properly manage solid waste in the county is wanting with blame games now arising.
Politicians have heaped blame on the county government for taking too long to find a workable solution to the garbage menace.