Welcome to KCDN

This is KCDN, an Environmental Management, Economic Empowerment and Poverty Eradication Civil Society.

We welcome you to our site. Kindly feel free to share with us your thoughts. Ideas that add value will be appreciated. Ideas that want to make us improve our physical environment will be welcome. And more so, ideas that redirect us from the lost cause will be of immense value.

It is us who will improve the lot of our Environment, our Economy and make Kenya a Clean Country, where People join hands to work for our own Economic Emancipation and where Municipal Solid Waste Management is looked at as a resource, not as waste.

We need to set the standards in this region of the World and become the referral point in how a people can join hands and work for their own Economic Liberation, where waste can be used as raw material and become a source of employment for our people.

Our collective actions will surely make a difference. This is why in partnership with our Key Strategic Partners- The Public Service Transformation Department, the National Environment Management Authority, the Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources, the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation,other key Ministries, the Local Authorities in Kenya, the Provincial Administration, A Better World, Akiba Uhaki Foundation and other Partners, we are moving deliberately in sensitizing and mobilizing Kenyans to work towards A Clean Kenya where waste is separated at source.

And this is why we are inviting Kenyans to join with us in The Clean Kenya Campaign and be a Member of Kimisho Sacco Society Ltd

Welcome.

Odhiambo T Oketch,
Team Leader & Executive Director,
KCDN, KSSL, KICL & TCKC,
Tel; 0724 365 557,
Email; komarockswatch@yahoo.com, kimishodevelopment@gmail.com
Website; www.kcdnkenya.org.

Friday, August 31, 2012

Kenyans must deliver Kenya- 1st June 2013

Friends,
We are living in hard times as we approach celebrating our 50 years of Independence next year.
We at The Clean Kenya Campaign-TCKC are very appreciative with the many Kenyans who have joined with us in this Campaign. If you want to support in any way, please visit About Us in our website- www.kcdnkenya.org
A Clean Kenya is achievable, even within one day. We only need leadership, clear resolve, commitment and patriotism. We must not live like Pigs in our own Country, just because Waste and Garbage is overwhelming us, yet, these are Gold Mines waiting to be tapped.
During The 2nd Consultative Forum on Waste Management, I was impressed with the presentation from Ms Kithinji from the Kenya Association of Manufacturers. On the mass production of flimsy paper by the Manufacturers, she blamed us for not tapping into that as a raw resource for conversion. If Mzee 'Prof' Munywe of Kayole Environment Management Association can make fencing poles from plastic at his small level, then, major investors would do great making Electric Poles from the same.
They only need Government commitment and support and they will move in big time.
In the process, we would save our Trees and boost our Tree Cover in Kenya.
L-R; Dr Kepha Ombacho- Chief Public Health Officer at the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, Eng Magdalene Mwende- International Ecology Manager at Bamburi Cement, Mr. Mario Kainga- Assistant Director of Environment City Council of Nairobi and Mr. Benson K Githinji- the Commandant- Traffic Department at the Kenya Police during The 2nd Consultative Forum on Waste Management
Again, we had a meeting with Mr. Ahmed Mohammed of Forsight Techologies, and we were simply impressed with what they can do with all the foul smell we get from the waste we are dumping on us. With their Enzymes, they can spray all the waste sights and get rid of the smell that is choking and killing Kenyans. But who wants to listen?
The problem is, we have some tired academicians in charge of Government Departments charged with this duty. We also have a new breed of bright academicians who have come out and joined in The Clean Kenya Campaign. We will work with them to ensure that Kenya is as Clean as any other Nation and Waste is made a Resource for Conversion. But for the tired academicians, the ones that only gloat about their PhD status, we will forcefully evict them from Government service. This is our Government and we have every stake in it.
We cannot live as if Waste is such an issue that needs constant studies. You will realize that the City Council of Nairobi, in their own admission, said that in partnership with JICA, they did a Master Plan on Solid Waste Management for Nairobi in 1988 and REVIEWED the same in 2010. They have now painted some vehicles and branded them with- Solid Waste Management insignias and possibly, they are doing some further studies. They are doing something definately. But one thing they are not doing is; they are not getting rid of the mounds of garbage and waste at every corner.
This is not acceptable. We want action. Not studies. Again, if this Team is tired, they MUST ship out, or shape up.
And as a Team, we are going to push the various Councils into action. If the City Council of Nairobi cannot wake up and do something, as we move on with our Programmes, we are going to mobilize all the Residents of Nairobi to come dump their waste at City Hall, so City Hall can see what to do with it. Maybe, it will give them nearer sampling for further studies.
I am hence giving NOTICE to these mandarins at City Hall, your time is up. We must bring Nairobi back to her lost glory as a Green City in the sun. And we have never issued a notice that we have failed to honour. We will dump waste on you very soon.
Lastly, we have realized that the vested interests are re-grouping and now, they are using the Secretaries to block some of our communications to the bosses. One such Secretary is the one to the Director-General of the National Environment Management Authority who sat on our invitation to the DG to attend The 2nd Consultative Forum on Waste Management. The DG NEVER saw our invitation.

Your time is up and we are sealing all holes. Kenya must be made Clean, and for this, we have no apologies.
Let us all work for a Clean Kenya as a Transformative Deliverable as we turn 50.


Odhiambo T Oketch,
Executive Director,
The Clean Kenya Campaign-TCKC
The Clean Kenya Campaign is an Initiative of The KCDN Kenya.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Team Members- The Clean Kenya Campaign

I want to start by appreciating all of you for attending and supporting  The 2nd Consultative Forum on Waste Management that we hosted at the KICC on the 28th August 2012. This Forum was ably supported by;
  1. The Public Service Transformation Department at the Office of the Prime Minister,
  2. A Better World/SOF-DI,
  3. Akiba Uhaki Foundation,
  4. Mugumo Communications Ltd,
  5. National Environment Management Authority- Nairobi Office, and
  6. Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation.
The deliberations therein were very apt and we resolved on the following;
1.  Formation of a 2 level Think Tank to drive this process.
The 1st Think Tank will be made up of all the groups involved in waste management. The 2nd Think Tank will be made up of key Government Ministries relevant to Waste Management , Private Sector and the TCKC.
2.  Formation of a Media Strategy
3.  Formation of a Consortium in Waste Management.
4.  Structured Engagement with Government and  Development partners.
To help move this process forward, The CIA Club at TCKC has a structured Partnership arrangement based on the following categories;
A] Gold Members- These are Team Members whose support to The Clean Kenya Campaign is Kshs 1,000,000.00 every year. Currently, this Club has the following Members;
  1. The Public Service Transformation Department,
  2. A Better World/SOF-DI
  3. Akiba Uhaki Foundation
B] Silver  Members- These are Team Members whose support to The Clean Kenya Campaign is Kshs 500,000.00 every year. Currently, this Club has the following Members;
  1. No member as yet
C] Bronze Members- These are Team Members whose support to The Clean Kenya Campaign is Kshs 120,000.00 every year. Currently, this Club has the following Members;
2.    Mugumo Communications Ltd
3.    Phoenix Aviation Ltd
D] Platinum Members- These are Team Members whose support to The Clean Kenya Campaign is a minimum of Kshs 20,000.00 every year. In this Club, you may give whatever support you want to The Clean Kenya Campaign and the majority of our Partrners are in this Category. We have documented this in our Website under Partners.
As we move forward with our structured engagement with all stakeholders in this Campaign,we will be reaching out to the various Groups and Teams that will be instrumental to the success of this Campaign so that we live the spirit and letter of the  Resolutions of The 2nd Consultative Forum on Waste Management.
The 1st two Resolutions will be adhered to within 2 weeks as proposed at The Forum. We are already working on this. The 3rd Resolution is ongoing and shortly, we will be inviting the select Team for Action. The last Resolution is an everyday affair, and it will be on-going as we drive this Campaign forward.
As I invite you to be part of this Great Transformation taking place in Kenya in our time, our Programmes across Kenya will continue as defined in our Work Plan. This Saturday the 1st of September 2012, we will be joining with the Kiambu Team of The Clean Kenya Campaign in launching the Monthly Kiambu Clean-up and Awareness Campaign.
Then on the 15th September 2012, we are all invited to a Massive Clean up Campaign in Kisumu dubbed The Kisumu 15th September. This Campaign will be marshalled by His Worship the Mayor of Kisumu Cllr Sam Okello, the Town Clerk Mr. Chris Rusana with technical support from the Director of Environment in Kisumu Mr. John Sande and the KICOCEN Team.
In October 2012, we will be in Eldoret. In November 2012, we will be in Nyeri and on the 6th of December 2012, we will host a Major Review Forum at the KICC to take stock and appreciate Best Practices from across all Kenya.
All the foregoing Awareness and Clean-up Campaigns are geared towards mobilizing and sensitizing Kenyans towards working for a Clean Kenya.
Let us all work for a Clean Kenya as a Transformative Deliverable as we turn 50.


Odhiambo T Oketch,
Executive Director,
The Clean Kenya Campaign-TCKC
The Clean Kenya Campaign is an Initiative of The KCDN Kenya.


Wednesday, August 29, 2012

SPEECH by Hon Mutula Kilonzo Minister for Education

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

SPEECH BY THE MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, HON. MUTULA KILONZO, EGH, EBS, MCIArb, SC, MP DURING THE 2ND CONSULTATIVE FORUM ON WASTE MANAGEMENT AT KENYATTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE ON 28TH AUGUST, 2012 AT 2.00 P.M.

The Executive Director, The Clean Kenya Campaign
Representatives of the Public Service
Transformation Department PM’s Office
The National Environment Management Authority
Other Partners present
Ladies and Gentlemen




I feel delighted to be part of this Consultative Forum on Waste Management.   Poor waste management is a general problem in Kenya and probably worse in most of its urban centres.  In fact the concern of many countries in the world is on how to handle waste generated by their citizens.  I am convinced that due to the hazardous nature of waste, it is imperative that all institutions, organizations, partners and individual citizens take practical steps to enhance the process of separation of waste at source to ensure cleaner cities, towns, institutions as well as market centres in Kenya.

I am confident that this forum will provide relevant recommendation that will develop and sustain strategies that will promote in-depth information and knowledge in separation of waste from source as we work towards achieving clean towns by June 2013.

Ladies and Gentlemen, as the country recasts and develops the various social systems, education and training will be challenged to impart knowledge and skills to improve management of social systems that embrace Science, Technology and Innovation in order to, conserve, as well as exploit our environment for sustainable development.

As a Ministry, we emphasize on issues concerning youth, housing, gender and health specifically in regard to health and safety, water, sanitation and environment.  The focus is on inculcating a culture of basic hygiene, responsible water use as well as embracing modern technology in water extraction and delivery.  In addition, we aim at providing appropriate manpower training on environmental management as well as laying the basis for mindset change towards positive environmental behavior in-line with Vision 2030.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish to point out that,  we need to critically look on how we collect, transport, process, dispose, manage and monitor our material waste to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics whether in solid, liquid, gaseous or radioactive form.  In some situations, we should practice resource recovery strategies while focusing on delaying the rate of consumption of our natural resources.

I am aware that the management of non-hazardous waste, both residential and institutional waste, in metropolis areas is usually the responsibility of Local Government Authorities.  In the same vein, the management of commercial and industrial waste is usually the responsibility of the generator subject to local, national or international controls.

As member of The Clean Kenya Campaign, my Ministry therefore supports all strategies and promotes varied methods of disposing waste such as landfill, incineration, recycling of waste depending on the convenience, appropriateness and compliance to environmental regulations.

It is important to underscore the significant contribution of the NEMA which undertakes routine inspection of all facilities and the environment to ensure compliance with environmental requirements.  Through their regular environmental audit most of our cities, towns and estates comply to promotion of a safe and healthy environment.

My Ministry will continue to provide support to this program particularly in encouraging educational institutions country-wide to work hand in hand with TCKC, NEMA and other stakeholders in order to bench mark the best practices in waste management for healthy habitation.

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I note here that this forum will encourage all participants to improve environmental efficiency.   This will involve use of resource recovery practices such as recycling materials like glass, food scraps, plant based papers and cardboard, plastics and metals.  For mixed solid waste, the need for separation at source and collection followed by reuse or recycling may necessitate that the Towns/City Councils charge households and industries for the volume of rubbish they produce.  It is also necessary to ensure that waste is not only collected by gunny bags, but also handled well during transportation to avoid spilling.
Ladies and Gentlemen, this country has been slow in adopting new technologies in waste management.  Let us borrow a leaf from countries such as Israel and Taipei. In Israel for instance, they use the BioArrow System, which takes trash directly from collection tracks and separates organic and inorganic materials through gravitational settling, screening and hydro-mechanical shredding.  This system is capable of sorting huge volumes of solid waste, salvaging recyclables and turning the rest into biogas and rich agricultural compost.  We need to emphasize the 3Rs, reduce, reuse and recycle in terms of waste minimization and maximize practical benefits from products and minimum amount of waste.

There is need to strengthen use of the “pollution pays principle”, that is, the polluting party pays for impact caused to the environment hence paying for appropriate disposal of the unrecoverable.

In conclusion, I wish to thank TCKC, NEMA, UNDP, HABITAT and the Government among other stakeholders, for their contribution in conserving the environment.

Thank you and May God Bless you

SPEECH by Mr Benson K Githinji Commandant Traffic Department

SPEECH BY THE COMMANDANT TRAFFIC DEPARTMENT MR. BENSON K. GITHINJI, EBS, DCP. DURING THE 2ND CONSULTATIVE FORUM ON WASTE MANAGEMENT AT KICC. LENANA HALL. NAIROBI.
Distinguished Guest and Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen.
On behalf of the Traffic Department, I wish to extend our gratitude to the Government, The Public Service Transformation Department at the Office of The Prime Minister, National Environment Management Authority and The Clean Kenya Campaign for this gesture of friendship.

We open today a crucial event on the way towards a Cleaner Kenya. The topic of the Forum is of primary concern to the daily life of Nairobi residents, as it is for most urban dwellers around the world. 

I am pleased to attend and participate in this 2nd Consultative Forum on Waste Management today. This forum I hope will form part of plans to implement in the City of Nairobi and other major urban centers, in order to alleviate the problem of traffic congestion and waste management. Traffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles,  streetcars  and  other conveyances, either singly or together. While using the public way for purposes of travel, traffic laws should be observed by road users as Traffic Police enforce the laws which govern traffic and regulate vehicles.

Today, reducing waste is everyone’s responsibility. If we can take responsibility and action, our cities can be places where life is led with dignity, safety, happiness and hope. Kenya Police Traffic Department has well established traffic control, which typically produces a better combination of travel safety and efficiency though faced with challenges attributed to human attitude, an issue that we collectively need to address through partnerships and engagement with transport sector and interested agencies and stakeholders.

Events which disrupt the flow and may cause traffic to degenerate into a disorganized mess include: road construction, collisions and debris in the roadway. On particularly busy freeways, a minor disruption may persist in a phenomenon known as traffic waves. A complete breakdown of organization may result in traffic jams and gridlock.

In some places in our cities traffic volume is consistently, extremely large, either during periods of time referred to as rush hour or perpetually. Exceptionally, traffic upstream of an accident or an obstruction may also be constrained, resulting in a traffic jam. Such dynamics in relation to traffic congestion is known as traffic flow. 

Some of the measures that the government through the line ministry has undertaken to address this manace are ongoing or have been completed and they include, widening of Highways and expansion of Thika Road to accommodate the increased traffic. Other measures include construction of inter-changes and overpasses to streamline traffic flow and construction of the Nairobi Eastern and Northern bypasses to channel transit traffic away from the city centre.
The construction of the Nairobi Western Ring roads will further diversify traffic flow away from the main highway thus reducing congestion in the Central Business District. I want to commend the Ministry of Roads and the Kenya Urban Roads Authority for working hard to ensure that the project is implemented.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
As we seek to manage this environmental issue that is now a manace, it is important to note that some cases of traffic jams are simply caused by impatient drivers who show little or no courtesy at all. I want to urge all road users and particularly motorists to observe basic principles so as to make Kenyan roads safer for all of us. I also will continue to be alert and firm in dealing with those who endanger the lives  and destroy the properties through reckless driving.
Driving on the cabs of the Road to avoid traffic jams are offences my officers will deal with very firmly. The Government is spending a lot of financial resources to build roads all over Kenya, and any single tear to the Road Cab starts a process of tear and wear for the road. Again, such drivers who overlap, drive over trees that have been planted by the various Councils. This is not acceptable, and my officers will deal firmly with this.

There is need to draft a strategy and its approval by the line ministry is important milestones towards a traffic friendly environment. The Forum we open today has as its first objective to improve and expand the strategy to fully include other actors and residents in as far as traffic control and management is concerned. The Forum also aims at indicating the way forward towards implementation of the strategy.

It is therefore a key moment towards a Clean Kenya, where we measure the task ahead and develop realistic ways of tackling the huge demand for road usage  expressed by the City Residents and business.

Before I conclude my remarks, I wish to point out that as we engage in our country’s most ambitious initiative of cleaning Kenya, the Traffic Police will be key partners in this environmental program. Let us be conscious of our environment, and that is why I am here today in my capacity to help mitigate this manace.

Finally, I thank all our Partners for supporting us in our efforts in my Department as we endeavour to attain the targets under VISION 2030.

I wish this forum a frank and fruitful discussion around these issues and the capacity and drive to bring about a clear and realistic way forward.

Thank you and God bless you all.