Her persistent initiative to ensure that the county
assembly and its environment remains eco friendly was her opening to her
appointment as the Northern region environment administrator in charge of three
sub counties within Kakamega county and she has since never looked back at all
and her efforts has been geared towards accomplishing her noble goal.
Despite her being a lady, she has managed to cope with
the harsh realities that come with her mandate to execute her duties.
Her goal is to see to it that the residents within the
sub counties live in a conducive environment away from pollution caused by careless
disposal of waste.
Meet Josephine Adhiambo, the degree holder in human
resource management, who is also a holder of a diploma in the same field as well
as a certified secretary certificate part1 and secretarial certificate single
and group.
She started off as a superintendent at the county and
her engagement in having a clean environment around was well captured by the
county officials who later saw it fit to elevate her as the regional
environmental officer a position she is holding now.
“During my tenure at the county, I was able to bring
on board the Rental Kill initials company which supplied us with air fresheners
and collection bins to dispose our dirt and that transformed the county and its
bordering institutions including the then PC’s plaza and Kakamega hospital and
mortuary free from huge piles garbage and unbearable odour and I ensured that
rental kill always came to empty the trash and provide necessary guidelines on
how well to conserve our environment.”
She attributes her success in the volatile docket as
her perception towards letting the common mwananchi understand what it curtails
to keep the environment clean and safe and how directly unclean environment is
a threat to their health.
“Yes there has been many arrogant locals who feel like
they cannot be directed on what to do with their waste and many have been very
negative and rebellious but slowly we have been able to make them see the voice
of reason and we are happy that our gentle but firm approach is paying off and
soon we will be able to be fully in control of our environment.”
The administrator states that its her calling as far
as environment matters is concerned and she further says she will continue to
dedicate her efforts towards a cleaner environment even if she is taken to
another department.
I hate being idol and I have always liked to be in a
clean environment even if you took me to the morgue, I will transform it into a
better place for everyone as what a man can do a woman can do better”.
Among the successes she is basking in is the change of
attitude of the market traders who have now learned through her remorse
approach how to collect and dump their garbage in one collection point set
aside for later collection and disposal a thing that was never before as you
would find litter scattered within the market place every market day posing a
health hazard to the residents especially children.
Within her jurisdiction she is in charge of women
youths and persons living with disabilities who the county has engaged in
garbage collection, drainage system management and she oversees the management
of utility bills including water and electricity to see that they are remitted on
time besides working with security officials within relevant institutions to
monitor the smooth disposal of waste within and she is in charge of performance
appraising of her team.
Josephine confides that her job has never been a
stumbling block in her married life and she has time for her family and she
well manage her duties both at work and home perfectly.
Her main challenge has been insufficient working tools
which she is pushing to achieve in the near future.
We are currently having only one tractor to service
the three sub counties and it sometimes its overwhelmed considering the amount
of garbage produced but we are addressing the issue that will also see the
Mung’anga dumping site in Mumias operational apart from the Rosterman in
Kakamega, and in the near future we will acquire land within Malava to set up
another site to service the nearby sub counties effectively”.
She attributes her success to the county chief officer
who she terms as highly educated on matters where he is at hand to offer
lasting solutions to the many challenges that comes with the environment
matters.
“I have also engaged the sub county ward
administrators who are also highlighting the locals on the importance of
environment conservation and so far things are looking up”.
