Nakuru residents have appealed to the county government to initiate a beautification program by planting trees along the highway and estates, which were cleared for expansion and improvement of roads.
The Chairman of the local lobby group Jesse Karanja said the trees which were planted by the Kenya Urban Road Authority (KURA) after the construction of the dual carriage of the Nakuru- Nairobi road were not protected and many of them were destroyed by the roaming goats.
He said, ‘’Weeds have over grown the trees and many more have been destroyed by cows and goats, and yet nothing much was being done to safeguard them.’’
Karanja said before the expansion of the roads the county had trees on both sides of the highway all the way from Naivasha to Molo, but, after they were uprooted, not much has been done to replace them.
However, the Director for Environment Mureithi Kiogora said they are in the process of implementing the beautification program during the current financial year and more trees will be planted to replace the ones that have been destroyed by livestock.
Kiogora said unlike the past when the town had fewer residents and hence easier to manage, the increased numbers have created a nightmare of generating 200 tons of waste, but the county only manages to collect 45 per cent on a daily basis.
‘Managing garbage in this county has become an expensive affair that drains a lot of money from the department, on a daily basis 80-100 lorry loads of waste are taken to the Gioto dumpsite,’ says Kiogora.
He added that since the Gioto dumpsite was an eyesore for people using the Nakuru-Eldama Ravine road they first decided to concentrate their efforts by planting trees along that particular road.
However, Karanja said the management of trees does not require much as long as they are securely fenced and weeded regularly.
By Veronica Bosibori
