Rare cleanup of Kenya market
2005-01-04 16:55
Nairobi, Kenya - Workers at Kenya's main market killed some 6 000 rats, trucked away 750 tons (680 metric tons) of garbage and sucked 70 tons (64 metric tons) of human waste out of latrines in three days of the first major cleanup of the market in 30 years, an official said on Tuesday.
The Wakulima Market, which supplies fresh food to most of Nairobi's 3 million residents, was a public health hazard, with rubbish piling up 2m (7 feet) deep in some places, said Local Government Minister Musikari Kombo.
"Was I shocked? I was traumatised by the rot," Kombo told The Associated Press. "We were lucky to be spared a major outbreak of disease."
City council workers used 160 000 liters of water in the cleanup operation, Kombo said, adding that some traders who operated at the market for years were surprised to see that a tarmac existed below the garbage.
- AP