Traders in Tumaini township, Ol Kalou, have urged the Nyandarua county government to provide services commensurate with the taxes they pay.
No public toilet, no bus park, no dumpsite, no market, no drainage system and no water. These are some of the problems residents say they face despite paying levies to the county government.
The urban centre has more than 200 traders who operate stalls at the roadside along the Ol Kalou-Nakuru highway — a situation that puts them at loggerheads with the Kenya National Highways Authority.
The township has about 2,000 dwellers. Residents dump garbage in private plots against owners' warning. They said the county government never collects the waste, thus risking their health.
The residents said they rely on a few private boreholes and have to dig deep into their pockets to buy water. They want Governor Francis Kimemia's administration to move in swiftly and end their agony.
Business community chairman Joseph Mwaniki on Thursday told the Star that more than 500 traders have raised the matter with the county government but nothing has been done. The county government had yet to respond to the claim.
“Every roadside stall owner pays Sh10 to the county government daily. That translates into Sh3650 annually per stall, yet we are not getting services,” he said.
Mwaniki said when they complain about the lack of market, they are told the government has no land in Tumani where one can be built, despite the township having enough public land.
In 2006, then-Vice President Moody Awori gave the community five acres that were to be hived from NYS land at Tumaini, he said. The land was meant for a police post, which, however, was built in another place. The traders want parcel used for a market project, alongside other amenities.
"We tried to follow up this matter for the process to complete but we don’t know what happened. We call on the national and county governments to join hands and find a lasting solution,” he said.
Justus Gichuhi said the community has copies of documents processed during the time. He said then-Ol Kalou MP Muriuki Karue had been pursuing the matter. "I urge our MP, David Kiaraho, to pick up this issue and ensure we get that land,” he said.
Veronica Wangui said women bear the brunt of lack of critical services, especially "when it comes to the call of nature".
“You are either assisted by those with toilets in their buildings or go to the bush," she said.
Peter Nyoike spends Sh100 daily to have garbage dumped near his posho mill burnt as it produces a bad smell that hurts his business. He appealed to the county government to intervene.
Edited by F'Orieny
