The Kenya Association of Manufactures has called for the scrapping of garbage collection charges proposed in the 2019 Nairobi City County Finance Bill.
The association argued that the new levies will overburden the business community and residents.
"We understand the need for revenue collection by the county government but these charges not only appear to contradict the county government's commitment to beautify the city and rid it of waste but also possess a public health risk," said the head of membership development at KAM, Tobias Alando.
"Delete the proposed solid waste management levies as they will only overburden the business community as well as the residents of this city," he added.
Alando was speaking on Thursday during a presentation before Nairobi County Assembly Budget and Appropriations Committee over the bill.
In the Bill, the Community Based Organisation solid waste collection and transportation per tonne will be charged Sh3,000 between one and seven rounds.
Above seven Sh6,000 will be charged.
Permit for private service providers per truck per annum will be charged Sh10,000 between one and seven rounds and Sh 15,000 above seven rounds.
Alando also stated that some of the trucks used today for garbage collection do not conform to international standards.
In their proposals, the manufacturers recommended collection of garbage by private companies should be discouraged.
"In as much as this is a long term solution, the county government needs to invest in its own garbage collection mechanisms to safeguard Nairobians from exploitation and poor service by these collectors," said KAM regional coordinator for Nairobi, Robert Juma.
He also urged the county to come up with stringent pre-qualification measures of private garbage collectors before issuing requisite permits.
The use of the right trucks and protective gears for the collectors was emphasized and regular monitoring to be mandatory to ensure that quality is maintained to avoid irregular dumping of waste.
KAM also called for the scrapping of tipping charges which are between Sh600 and Sh2,000 per ton depending on the type of waste.
This is in addition to deleting the proposed solid waste management levies for apartments and offices which are as high as Sh60,000.
