Kisii County on Sunday joined the rest of the country in marking World Cleanup Day, with Governor Simba Arati leading residents and county officials in a cleanup exercise in Kisii Town.
The event also marked the opening of Etaya Governor’s Park, a public space established at a site that was previously used as a dumpsite. The transformation of the area into a green public space was one of the major highlights of the day’s activities.
Speaking during the event, Governor Arati described the transformation as a major change for the site, saying: “Where a mountain of garbage once stood, there is a green recreational park where the people of Kisii walk, rest and breathe clean air.”
Arati also said the former Nyambera dumpsite had posed health risks to residents before it was transformed into a park. He said the change represented a shift from waste disposal to the creation of a cleaner public environment.
“When we came in, Nyambera was a notorious dumpsite that posed health risks to residents. We have transformed it into a park, a clean and green public space,” Arati said.
The governor led the cleanup exercise alongside Deputy Governor Elijah Obebo, joining residents and county officials in activities focused on cleaning Kisii Town before overseeing the opening of the park.
The World Cleanup Day event brought together national and county leaders, elected representatives and residents. Among those present was Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang’o, while Nyaribari Chache MP Zaheer Jhanda and several other Members of Parliament also attended.
Members of the Kisii County Assembly participated in the exercise, led by Majority Leader Henry Moracha, alongside the Speaker of the Kisii County Assembly.
The opening of Etaya Governor’s Park marked a visible transformation of a site previously associated with waste disposal into a public recreational space. The governor used the occasion to highlight the county’s efforts in addressing waste management and environmental cleanliness.
Arati also spoke about the county’s broader waste-management programme, including the establishment of a Materials Recovery Facility at the Kisii Agricultural Training Centre. He said the facility is intended to support waste recovery and reduce the amount of waste ending up in disposal sites.
The World Cleanup Day activities therefore combined a community cleanup exercise with the unveiling of a new public space, placing environmental management and the reuse of previously degraded areas at the centre of the event.
For residents who witnessed the transformation, the opening of Etaya Governor’s Park represented a significant change in the appearance and use of the site, from an area associated with waste to a space now presented as a recreational environment.
The event brought together residents, county officials, national government representatives, Members of Parliament and Members of the County Assembly in a collective cleanup exercise, before the governor formally opened the new park.
