Sonko Rescue Team members at a cleaning and garbage collection exercise in Eastlands [PHOTO/the-star.co.ke]
A clash is said to be brewing between Governor
Mike Sonko’s charity organisation (The Sonko Rescue Team) and the county environment workers over the cleaning exercise in the city.
According to The Star, the county workers say their jobs are currently threatened and they are planning to block the Sonko youths from operating in their localities.
About two weeks back, the governor hired over 1,000 youths to work with the SRT in collection of garbage, clearing drainages and unpinning campaign posters in the exercise dubbed ‘Ng’arisha Jiji.’
Critics have raised questions over the role of the SRT youths in the cleaning sector and whether they will be paid by City Hall, considering it is an NGO.
City Hall has been relying on their own staff, community-based organisations and contracted garbage collectors to do the work.
However, Sonko has said the youths are being paid by the organisation and are not contracted by the county.
But on Tuesday, activities at the Mutindwa market in Buruburu came to a standstill after the SRT youths clashed with county workers on who was to clean the area.
“Leo ni kama sitakuwa na kazi. Nimefika na nilipata vijana tayari wanasafisha na sielewi mbona,” saiid a worker quoted by the Star. (This loosely translates as: Today it seems I won’t have work because I arrived and found the youths cleaning and I don’t understand why).
Reports also say that the youths have met hostility in Makadara, Ruaraka, Dagoretti North, and Embakasi West constituencies where locals have been mobilised by their area MPs and MCAs to clean the places.