As Uganda launched the National Cleaning Day in Kisenyi on Saturday, the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has clarified that the initiative will complement not replace the authority’s weekly Weyonje clean-up campaign conducted every Saturday.
KCCA Public Health Director Dr. Sarah Zalwango told journalsts at the launch that the National Cleaning Day will enable communities’ clean areas not regularly covered by the Weyonje exercise.
She explained that Kampala’s sanitation challenges are worsened by waste flowing into the city from surrounding metropolitan areas, adding that the nationwide clean-up initiative will help reduce the amount of garbage entering the capital.
KCCA Executive Director Hajjat Sharifah Buzeki welcomed the government’s decision to increase funding for the authority saying it will strengthen the weekly Weyonje campaign and improve garbage collection services across Kampala.
According to Buzeki, the additional funding will support the rehabilitation of the Buyala dumpsite, which currently receives large volumes of waste from Kampala and its Greater Metropolitan Area.
She said the funds will also be used to procure additional garbage collection trucks to improve waste management. To curb littering, Buzeki said KCCA has introduced Ambiance Ambassadors, who will monitor public spaces and hold individuals accountable for littering.
She noted that the National Cleaning Day has reinvigorated the Weyonje campaign, which KCCA initiated to promote cleanliness and public health in the city.
Despite the success of the launch, the exercise generated large volumes of garbage that remained piled along roads in several parts of Kampala by the afternoon.In Kawempe Division, heaps of waste were visible along a number of roads awaiting collection.
KCCA spokesperson Daniel Nuwabine acknowledged that the National Cleaning Day had generated an unusually high volume of waste across the city.
He said the exercise had exposed the extent of accumulated garbage in many communities, indicating that some residents had been living with large amounts of waste in their homes and neighborhoods.
Nuwabine said KCCA, working together with private waste collection companies, would ensure that all the garbage generated during the exercise is collected by the end of the day.
He emphasized that the authority’s weekly Weyonje campaign will continue alongside the National Cleaning Day to sustain improved sanitation and hygiene standards in Kampala.
Meanwhile, in Kagoma, Nabweru Division, residents participated in the clean-up exercise by clearing the front of their shops, markets, and roads. However, by 4:00 p.m., large heaps of garbage had accumulated at several collection points in the area and were yet to be collected-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
