Nairobi, 2nd November, 2022
Nairobi City County Deputy Governor, Njoroge Muchiri has said that Governor Sakaja Johnson’s Government will prioritize the promotion of food related activities (urban agriculture, food waste, markets and food distribution) and increase access to green spaces available in order to make Nairobi food systems more sustainable and resilient.
Speaking during the “Green Cities Initiative (GCI) 2nd Year Anniversary virtual meeting, Deputy Governor Muchiri said that Governor Sakaja’s Government would promote turning organic market waste into opportunities; said the Deputy Governor, “Through the Green Cities Initiative, Nairobi county has partnered with FAO and Korogocho market traders’ association in training over 100 youth food waste champions in food waste management through making compost, vermiculture, briquette making. All this has been instrumental in equipping our youth with skills that can help them convert waste into money, create employment and create alternative livelihoods. In addition, the food waste initiative helps us improve our environment by reducing the amount of organic waste that ends up in landfills and nearby rivers.”
The virtual event is facilitated by the Food and Agricultural Organization(FAO), the Green Cities Initiative aims at improving city resilience and the well-being of urban populations in 100 cities around the world by 2023, up to 1000 by 2030. Since 2020, the initiative has been implemented in all regions, to support local governments to establish sustainable agri-food systems and inclusive urban environment.
Deputy Governor Muchiri also said that soon Nairobi residents will enjoy trading and immense business expansion because Governor Sakaja’s government would construct 25 markets in Nairobi. This would ensure all hustlers are provided with opportunities for all to do business. The county government would ensure provision of clean and safe water as well as proper security for all traders and customers.
Deputy Governor Muchiri chaired a panel which focused its discussions around Green cities initiative. The session was attended by the following Mayors; Manuel De Araujo – Mayor of Quelimane, Mozambique, Lepore Matteo – Mayor of Bologna, Subram Ramaswamy, Senior Adviser of the Mayor of Colombo, Sri Lanka and Sonad Abderrahim, Mayor of Tunis, Tunisia.
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