Vertically-challenged? Interrogating intergovernmental coordination in Kenya’s municipal solid waste management (MSWM) for sustainability

• Published date: 10 December 2021
• Citation: (2020) 26 SAJELP 62
• Pages: 62-104
• Date: 10 December 2021
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.47348/SAJELP/v26/a3
• Author: Kituku, W.

62

https://doi.org/10.47348/SAJELP/v26/a3

VERTICALLY-CHALLENGED?

INTERROGATING INTERGOVERNMENTAL

COORDINATION IN KENYA’S MUNICIPAL

SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT (MSWM)

FOR SUSTAINABILITY*

Wambua Kituku,† Collins Odote,‡ Charles Okidi§

and Patricia Kameri-Mbote¶

Abstract

The concept of environmental integration offers a viable paradigm for

realisation of sustainability through incorporation of environmental protection

considerations in policy and legislation. Pursuing optimal environmental

integration between various levels of governance – a concept known as

vertical environmental integration (VEI) – is contingent on effective and

adequate intergovernmental coordination. Using municipal solid waste

management (MSWM) as a reference case, this paper explores the pursuit

of VEI through intergovernmental coordination in Kenya. The paper argues

that the prospects of entrenching VEI are undermined by inadequate and

incongruent intergovernmental coordination mechanisms and strategies as

well as by the lack of clarity in distribution of regulatory responsibilities in

MSWM between the national and county levels of government. This is despite

the adoption of a transformative Constitution in 2010 with a focus on devolution

that emphasises coordinated and consultative relationships between the two

levels of government. Lessons from South Africa offer prospects for improving

intergovernmental coordination to achieve sustainability in MSWM.

1 INTRODUCTION

In 2010, Kenya adopted a Constitution, which created a devolved

system of government comprising national and county tiers of

* The paper is derived from a doctoral study that focused on Nairobi

metropolitan region using mixed methods to gain insights on how sectoral

and intergovernmental coordination was pursued horizontally and vertically

respectively, to promote environmental integration and therefore sustainability

of MSWM�

† BSc (JKUAT) LLB LLM PhD candidate (Nairobi)�

‡ LLB LLM PhD (Nairobi)�

§ BA (Alaska) MA PhD (Tufts)�

¶ LLB (Nairobi) LLM (Warwock) LLM (Zimbabwe) LLD (Nairobi) PhD

(Stanford)�

(2020) 26 SAJELP 62

© Juta and Company (Pty) Ltd

63

VERTICALLY-CHALLENGED? INTERROGATING INTERGOVERNMENTAL

COORDINATION IN KENYA’S MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT

https://doi.org/10.47348/SAJELP/v26/a3

governance�1 The system affords both levels of government with

distinctive legislative and executive competencies, underpinned

by principles of interdependence, thus laying the basis for

intergovernmental relations� With regard to environmental

management, the 2010 Constitution assigns a policy- and

standards-setting mandate to the national government alongside

a broadly-worded responsibility for environmental protection

and the establishment of a system of sustainable development�2

At a different level, county governments are mandated to handle

specific aspects of environmental management such as pollution

control and implementation of policies adopted by national

government on soil and water conservation and forestry�3 This

division of responsibilities provides a setting for interrogating the

nature and extent of intergovernmental coordination required to

ensure effective environmental protection and the realisation of

sustainable development�

Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) as a sub-

sector in environmental management is a constitutional function

of county governments even though the national government

continues to exercise a multitude of regulatory and oversight

functions over the same�4 MSWM in Kenya faces profound

sustainability challenges, owing to rising waste generation rates,

poor collection, disposal and recycling with a proliferation

of illegal dumping activities particularly in urban areas�5 For

instance, it is estimated that the three major cities of Nairobi,

Mombasa and Kisumu generated 3,508 metric tonnes (MT) in

2019, yet only 1857 MT (or 52%) of the waste was collected and

disposed in designated open landfills, while the rest is routinely

dumped unlawfully�6 Low waste-recycling rates are evidenced by

1 Constitution of Kenya (CoK) 2010, Art 6�

2 Ibid, Fourth Schedule, s 22�

3 Ibid s 3 and 10�

4 Ibid, Fourth Schedule, s 2(g) as read with s 3�

5 NEMA National Solid Waste Management Strategy (2015) at 48; UNEP

Kenya: atlas of our changing environment, (2009) 156; Alexander Soezer

Nationally appropriate mitigation action on a circular economy solid waste

management approach for urban areas in Kenya (2017) at 9� Please complete

the Soezer ref, book/jnl/volume article/thesis??

6 Kenya National Bureau of Statistics Economic Survey 2020 (2020) at 147�

These three cities account for 30% of volumes of MSW generation in Kenya�

© Juta and Company (Pty) Ltd

64

(2020) 26 SA JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY

https://doi.org/10.47348/SAJELP/v26/a3

the fact that only 5% of the waste generated in Nairobi City is

actually converted to compost and recyclables, thus underscoring

the relative low economic importance attached to MSWM�7

Uncontrolled tipping and open burning of waste are the preferred

methods of disposal, contributing to environmental pollution

and greenhouse gas emissions�8 The evolution of a regulatory

framework over the years has not seen matched improvements in

MSWM nor decisively addressed the waste problem in Kenya�9

Thus, MSWM in Kenya is yet to evince sustainable management

with adequate environmental safeguards�

This article provides an assessment of Kenya’s inter-

governmental coordination in municipal solid waste management

using the analytical lens of the concept of environmental

integration� Environmental integration refers to the incorporation

of environmental knowledge, values and interests in human

thinking, decisions, actions and institutions as well as promoting

consistency between environmental management efforts in a

variety of ways�10 The concept has normative roots in Principle

13 of the Stockholm Declaration11 and Principle 4 of the Rio

Declaration,12 which exhort states to incorporate environmental

considerations in planning and decision-making to achieve

sustainable development�

7 Soezer (n5) at 27; the author estimated that 95% of waste generated in

Nairobi is considered as resuable�

8 J Okot-Okumu ‘Solid waste management in African cities – East Africa’

in L Rebellon (ed) Waste management: an integrated vision (2012) at 3-20�

9 T Haregu, B Mberu & A Ziraba ‘Evolution of solid waste management

policy landscape in Kenya: analysis of evolvement of policy priorities and

strategies’ (2016) Working Paper 8, Urban Africa Risk Knowledge at 1-14�

10 Ton Buhrs Environmental integration: our common challenge (2009) at 1�

11 United Nations The report of the United Nations Conference on the

Human Environment, Stockholm 5-16 June 1972, A/CONF�48/14/Rev�1�

12 United Nations Rio Declaration on the Environment and Development

31 ILM 874 (1992)�

© Juta and Company (Pty) Ltd