The ownership of up to 70 percent of the Dandora dumpsite landmass is shrouded in mystery after it emerged that the county government of Nairobi possesses ownership documents for only 15.02 hectares out of the total land size approximated to be 50 hectares.
In her report for the County executive of Nairobi city for the financial year ending June 2023, Auditor General Nancy Gathungu sounded alarm stating that the county risks loss or misappropriation of the asset if the ownership is not regularised.
“Documents provided by management revealed that the Dandora dumpsite is approximately 50 hectares. However, management has ownership documents for land measuring 15.02 hectares while 34.98 hectares have no ownership documents,” wrote Ms Gathungu in the report.
“In the circumstances, failure to secure the county’s assets may expose them to loss or misappropriation besides limiting the ability of the county to offer service to the public.”
Located within the Embakasi North constituency, the dumpsite receives over 2,000 tonnes of waste daily.
Ranked one of the largest in Africa, the site was at one point a quarry that the then city council of Nairobi sought to use temporarily, and was set to be reclaimed in the early 1970s when City Hall had promised to look for alternative land outside Nairobi.
International standards require the decommissioning and closure of landfills and, in Kenya, dumpsites after 20 years.
In August last year, the Johnson Sakaja-led administration announced that waste collection at the Dandora site would increase following the acquisition of 27 new garbage trucks, in a move that would see the county hire at least 3,500 youth in the Environment department.
At around the same time, the county government had revealed a plan to convert the dumpsite into a 45-megawatt waste-to-energy plant that was expected to process up to 2,500 tonnes of waste per day.
The Environment and Lands Court would, however, later slam the brakes on the multimillion-shilling project after one of the Dandora residents, Advin Muthomi Mbae, filed an application arguing that the county government had failed to carry out public participation and a feasibility study before launching the tendering process.
Mr Mbae also informed the court that the government was planning to go ahead with the construction of the plant despite a 2019 court directive ordering the defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) to close the site and relocate it elsewhere.
At the time of the court suspension, City Hall was in the final stages of awarding the contract to China National Electric Engineering, which had met all the requirements set by the county government.
The project, according to tender documents seen by the Business Daily, had an investment value of Sh47 billion, with the company being required to deposit a performance bond of Sh2.3 billion before signing the contract.
In addition to implementing the project, the firm was also expected to cater for the thousands of residents of Korogocho, Baba Dogo, Mathare, and Dandora who currently eke out a living by recycling materials from the dump site.
In the public-private partnership deal, the company would design, build, and operate the project for an agreed period to recoup its investment before handing it over to the county government.
