NAIROBI, April 6 (Xinhua) -- More than 200 Chinese nationals on Saturday joined residents of Nairobi in Kenyan capital's monthly clean-up campaign drive.
Led by diplomats at the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, the Chinese nationals joined Mike Sonko, Governor of Nairobi, at Komarock, a suburb to the east of the city in the effort to make Nairobi clean.
The Chinese embassy also donated 500,000 Kenyan shillings (about 5,000 U.S. dollars) for purchase of working tools for volunteers who participate in the Nairobi monthly clean-up campaign.
"We have officially joined the Nairobi monthly clean-up campaign as partners and we will be offering equipment and machinery to help in the campaign as well as mobilize our citizens to take part in the drive," minister counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Kenya Li Xuhang said.
Sonko welcomed the move by the Chinese government and appealed to Nairobi residents to continue turning out in large numbers in all the 85 wards within the county during the monthly campaigns.
"I want to thank the Chinese government for their kind gesture by donating machinery and financial support towards the Nairobi monthly clean-up campaign. Stern action will be taken against those residents and industrial firms found dumping garbage in undesignated areas," the governor said.
The county chief also issued a warning to those polluting the Nairobi River's ecosystem that their actions will be punished.
"We have put in a lot of effort to clean the rivers and dumping fresh garbage makes everything we have done zero work. Removing garbage from rivers is also very difficult as it requires specialized equipment," he added.
