Mombasa,KENYA:A Mombasa based environmental lobby group has written to the ministries of Tourism, Environment and forestry and the National environmental management Authority seeking to have the Kibarani dumpsite turned into a public recreational park once the garbage collection exercise is complete.
The lobby group Clean Mombasa CBO say they fear that land grabbers could be waiting for the garbage collection exercise to be completed so that they can reclaim more land from the Indian Ocean to build a container handling facility owing to its proximity to the port of Mombasa.
This comes just months after the court of appeal in Mombasa issued orders restraining Makupa transit shade, a container handling facility operating in the area from reclaiming 9 acres of the Indian ocean in order to expand its facility.
Speaking on Wednesday in Mombasa , Dr Edwin Muinga Chokwe who is the secretary of the lobby group argued that the facility will help redeem the face of Mombasa to visitors who are used to being welcomed to the city by the dumpsite.
“ The recreational facility will ensure re-Planting of mangrove trees will help protect the various flora and fauna hence creating a beautiful scenery” Dr Muinga said.
A research done by Bigship another environmental lobby group in November last year showed that Mombasa county had lost 80% of its mangrove cover leaving the county with a cover of a meager 20%.
The research also cited the dumpsite as a big threat to the growth of mangrove trees.
The dumpsite located at the Makupa Causeway which is one of the main links of Mombasa Island to the mainland has earned the Mombasa governor harsh criticism from various stakeholders most notably in the tourism and environmental sectors.
The dumpsite has also been blamed on the outbreaks of various diseases in the city such as the Cholera and the infamous Chikungunya disease.
In April , the Mombasa governor ordered the closure of the dumpsite and since then county garbage trucks have been collecting garbage from the site.
