A team from the Lodwar municipality and the county Department of Health on Saturday conducted a cleanup exercise in Lodwar town.
The team sought to clean the town as well as sensitize the residents on environmentally friendly waste disposal techniques to keep the town free from diseases and pollution.
Speaking during the exercise in Lodwar, the Director for Environment, Phoebe Ekal said that the County would work closely with both residents and traders in a bid to minimize garbage heaps and illegal dumpsites that keep growing in the Municipality.
The cleanup exercise was a joint intervention with the Lodwar Municipality leadership and the Department of Health.
The exercise comes against a backdrop of complaints from residents over dumping of waste in the town which has dented the image of the county headquarters.
Cases of open defecation are also an eye-sore to the town dwellers.
The director also said that the exercise provided a platform for sensitizing the residents on the dangers of a degraded environment.
“As we advocate for a clean and safe environment, we have to work with the health and Municipality officials in discouraging uncontrolled dumping and open incineration which leads to the emission of hazardous gases into the environment,” Ekal said.
The director further explained that the cleanup exercise protects against the biodegradation and erosion of endangered plants and animal species.
The cleanup exercise was supported by a section of local businesses and community-based organizations operating in Turkana.
Jacob Mutua (Turkana Central Environment Officer), Jamila Ebongon and Kevin Ojiem (Ward Environment Officers), John Kirwa (NEMA), and Francis Emanikor were present during the exercise.
By Peter Gitonga
