COLLECTION,TRANSPORTATION AND DISPOSAL IN NAIROBI 81
Another problem that faces private solid waste collection firms, again the smaller
firms more than the larger ones, is that of non-payment by some clients and a belief
among many Kenyans that the NCC is supposed to provide solid waste collection
services. The latter leads to reluctance on the part of residents, especially in less
affluent districts, to engage with private providers Privatisation of solid waste collec-
tion service, moreover, still lacks political support from NCC stemming from fear that
privatisation could lead to loss of employment.
The NCC has a sizeable clientele of institutions and commercial enterprises. In addi-
tion, all households with water connection pay a monthly waste collection fee of Kshs
60 each, on average, even though the service is hardly provided. However, in view of
its poor performance, the NCC is in no position to adjust solid waste collection service
charges upward in tandem with changing service cost. This is one of the areas targeted
for reform. The cleansing section has no budgetary autonomy and does not control the
waste fees generated through the water bill. It receives only 10 percent of NCC’s
budget, which is little compared to cities like Bangkok (15.3 percent) and Penang
(24.7 percent) (JICA, 1998). Allocations are not based on service needs, but rather on
the political fight over scarce local government resources. Consequently, DOE suffers
chronic under-funding.
Equipment and transport cost
Economic viability of the solid waste collection service provided by large private
companies is also indicated by their larger, well-maintained stock of equipment and
facilities. For example, Bins (Nairobi) Ltd. has 11 collection vehicles while City Bins
Ltd. has 15. Smaller companies like Urban Waste Management Services and Tacentac
Enterprises have 2-6 vehicles. A typical small firm has one vehicle, usually a pick-up
(of about 1 tonne) or 7-tonne truck, hired from the open market or family-owned
(Esho, 1997). The vehicle is typically dilapidated, without alternative use, or a multi-
purpose family pick-up. About 60 percent of the small firms surveyed by Esho in 1997
used hired vehicles. The small companies use small vehicles with very low capacity
to haul waste.
Vehicles are hired at exorbitant prices and the economic viability of the companies
relying on them is therefore low. The poor state of roads and constant traffic jams add
to transportation costs. Scattering of each company’s clients over different parts of the
city also contributes to escalation of transportation costs. For a trip of 4 tons, for
instance, private collectors cover an operating distance of 50 km compared with 35 km
for NCC (JICA, 1998). Increasing cost of fuel and absence of transfer facilities
compound the problem of high transport cost. The unplanned solid waste collection
system in Nairobi thus leads to inefficiency in service provision, also negatively
affecting the economic performance of private companies.