Town councils in Luwero District have hired additional garbage trucks, secured fuel and identified alternative disposal sites ahead of the second National Cleaning Day. The Councils seem to have learnt from the first exercise, which left large heaps of uncollected waste along roadsides. The government has declared Saturday, August 29, 2026, as the second National Cleaning Day following the launch of the programme on July 25.
During the first exercise, residents in several town councils cleaned their communities but local authorities struggled to collect and transport the waste because of inadequate trucks, fuel and disposal facilities. The councils now say they have increased their capacity to ensure that garbage collected during Saturday’s exercise does not remain on roadsides after residents have completed the cleaning.
In Luwero Town Council, LC3 Chairperson Paul Mukungu said the council had only one garbage truck during the first exercise and had no specific budget for transporting the waste. He said the council has since hired two additional trucks and allocated funds for fuel to increase its capacity to collect and transport garbage to disposal sites. The council has also secured an alternative dumping site after the main disposal site reached capacity.
Mukungu said the additional resources are intended to address the major challenge experienced during the first exercise, when residents collected waste faster than the council could remove it. The problem was also experienced in Wobulenzi Town Council, where the volume of garbage generated during the first exercise sharply increased the demand for collection vehicles.
LC3 Chairperson Moses Ssebalamu said the council normally makes about six garbage-collection trips a day but made at least 25 trips during the first National Cleaning Day. He expects the demand to be even higher this Saturday because some residents have kept their garbage at home, waiting for the council to provide free transportation during the exercise.
Ssebalamu said the council has secured two additional trucks, increasing the total number of vehicles available for garbage collection to four. Each truck will be deployed with two workers to collect and transport garbage from designated collection points. The increased fleet, he said, is intended to prevent a repeat of the first exercise, when the volume of waste overwhelmed the council’s normal collection capacity.
George William Namugera, the LC1 Chairperson of Kakookolo Zone in Luwero Town Council, said residents had been mobilised and notified to participate in Saturday’s exercise. He said the main concern now is whether the councils will have enough trucks to collect garbage from all the designated collection points.
Luwero District LC5 Chairperson Erastus Kibirango said the district has received its first-quarter release of funds and directed town councils to use part of the money to hire additional trucks.
Kibirango said the councils need to ensure that the waste collected by residents is transported to appropriate disposal sites instead of being left in public spaces. He said the district is working with town councils to strengthen waste collection ahead of the exercise.
Kibirango also said the state minister for the Luwero Triangle had confirmed that he would attend the exercise in Luwero Town Council to support mobilisation and encourage residents to participate. The preparations come after the first National Cleaning Day exposed a gap between mobilising communities to collect waste and the capacity of local authorities to transport and dispose of it.
In Wobulenzi, for example, the council’s garbage collection trips increased from an average of six a day to at least 25 during the first exercise. The councils are now banking on additional trucks, fuel and disposal space to ensure that the second exercise does not leave another trail of garbage along roadsides.
Meanwhile, Police have announced temporary movement restrictions during Saturday’s exercise. Assistant Commissioner of Police Kituuma Rusoke, the Uganda Police Force spokesperson, said movement of vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles and vessels would be restricted nationwide from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
He urged members of the public to remain within their localities, participate in the cleaning exercise and resume normal activities after 10:00 a.m. Police said exemptions would apply to patients travelling for medical treatment, emergency service vehicles, security personnel, medical workers, journalists and other authorised categories. The public has been urged to comply with the restrictions and cooperate with officers deployed to enforce them-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
