The Minister for Karamoja Affairs, John Baptist Lokii, has directed all municipalities and town councils across the Karamoja Sub-region to install garbage bins in all public places to address poor sanitation.
He issued the directive on Saturday during the launch of the National Cleaning Day in Moroto Municipality. By 8:00 am, joint security forces, Moroto Municipality leaders, and community members joined the rest of the country to clean public places. Those who could not join were seen cleaning their own homes.
Police patrol vehicles moved around the streets to regulate movement and stop motorists and boda-bodas. Some cyclists were seen dodging police. All businesses, including the central market, were closed except clinics. Those who had opened were forcefully ordered to close.
Speaking while flagging off the exercise in Moroto Municipality, Lokii said Moroto has been one of the dirtiest towns in the country, and much needs to be done to improve hygiene. “This National Cleaning Day is the beginning of our mission to ensure there is hygiene from households to public places across municipalities and town councils in the region,” Lokii said. e lauded the government for the directive, noting it will help improve hygiene and reduce disease outbreaks.
John Longolio, the Deputy Town Clerk for Moroto Municipal Council, said the business community was instructed to close and join the cleaning. He added that the exercise aims to fight sanitation-related diseases and that the council is ready to mobilize the community every Saturday.
Mark Ssire, the Mayor of Moroto Municipality, said he mobilized communities through churches to take household sanitation seriously. Justin Tuko, the Moroto Deputy Resident District Commissioner, acknowledged that poor hygiene and sanitation have been the biggest challenge in the municipality and district. “Most of the diseases people are suffering from are a result of poor hygiene, especially at household level,” Tuko said.
He expressed optimism that the cleaning day initiative will remind the community of their responsibility in managing solid waste. Maj. Gen. Wilberforce Sserunkuma, the UPDF 3rd Division Commander, said the joint operation with the community was a sign of patriotism.
“Cleanliness is a responsibility of everyone. We found it necessary to mobilize and join the community to inform them of the importance of unity,” Sserunkuma said.
Julius Okello, a vendor at Moroto Central Market, said he voluntarily joined because of the importance of a clean environment. “This exercise should be every Saturday, not once a month, because of the large volume of garbage generated in business areas,” Okello said. He noted that while there are collection points at the market, garbage sometimes piles up because council authorities take a long time to transport it to the dumping ground.
Karamoja has for decades grappled with low latrine coverage and usage. Although every household must have a toilet, in Karamoja far below as 70% of communities practice open defecation.
A report by the Karamoja Resilience Support Unit indicates that 1,181 households, or 64.3%, in the region lack latrines. Amudat District had the lowest coverage at 2.6%, while Kaabong had the highest at 69.8%. The problem is linked to cultural beliefs.
Responding to the concerns, Minister Lokii said the government plans to provide money to construct public latrines in every village. However, he encouraged communities to construct their own latrines as they wait.He appealed to partners to support vulnerable households with slabs for pit latrines and called for continued sensitization on latrine usage to permanently solve the sanitation problem-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
