The City Management of Kisumu has organized a mass cleanup of the Central Business District (CBD) to boost the city’s aesthetics as visitors trickle in for the Africities conference which kicks off next week.
Kisumu City Physical Planning Officer Judy Bala said the exercise involving unblocking of drainages, clearing garbage, beautification and planting flowers targets to embellish the lake side city which will be home to over 6, 000 delegates from across the world.
Bala said the county government has partnered with a local firm, Private Waste Actors, to give impetus to the exercise.
Speaking to KNA in his office, Bala said other clean up partnerships with youth groups, schools, colleges and Community Based Organizations (CBO’s) were ongoing to ensure that the city remains clean during the conference which is slated for May17-22, 2022.
Through the initiative, she added the county government has purchased seedlings from various youth groups which were being planted within the CBD and along major highways to beautify the city.
The city, she said, was currently undergoing landscaping all the way from Kisumu International Airport (KIA) to the CBD to achieve a uniform terrain.
She said tree planting has been incorporated as a form of landscaping whereby ornamental, edible, indigenous and other types of trees are being planted to enhance the appearance of the city.
Bala said repainting of building with blue and shades of white was also ongoing to ensure that the visitors have a long lasting memory of the city after the conference.
The Africities Summit is the flagship event of United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa) which brings together African ministers; mayors, leaders and elected officials of local and regional governments; civil society organizations; traditional authorities; representatives of the African diaspora; economic actors; experts, researchers and academics; financial institutions; and development partners.
Kisumu is the first intermediary city in Africa to host the event whose theme is ‘The Role of Intermediary Cities of Africa in the implementation of Agenda 2030 of the United Nations and the African Union Agenda 2063’.
