Apac officials close shops, rentals over poor sanitation

Dozens of tenants are stranded after Apac Municipal workers closed their premises and rented rooms over poor sanitation.

The six-day operation that commenced last Thursday targets rental properties lacking latrines, drainage, and proper garbage disposal pits.

The operation was carried out in the central business area where there is rampant littering of the back lanes and corridors with open defecation, kitchen refuse, polythene bags and plastic bottles.

According to the municipality’s department of environmental health, only 50 percent of the rental properties in the central business area have the required sanitation facilities.

Mr Richard Nirwehe, one of the affected tenants on Chegere Road in Arocha Division whose shop was closed, was worried about how he would survive amid the current economic hardship.

“I am now closing my business yet I paid rent for six months and currently I don’t have money to shift to another building. The landlords must be serious, otherwise they are going to have problems with us,” he said.

Mr Samado Yada, a motor vehicle mechanic whose garage was closed, said: “We are paying heavy taxes yet there is no serious business, and with the closure of our business premises we are going to starve. I am appealing to landlords to always comply with the law so that tenants don’t suffer the consequences of their negligence.” 

Ms Susan Abia, a tenant on Republic Street in Akere Division, and her family members were locked out because of a filled up  pit-latrine.

“I am now unable to access my house so that I can prepare food for my children who are returning from school. I am also very hungry but there is no way yet I paid my rent for three months,” she said. 

Mr David Livingstone Okeng, Apac Municipal principal health inspector, also the acting municipal health officer, said the landlords whose houses were closed defied several warnings sent to them.

“We are not doing well in terms of pit-latrines and drainable toilets and we have people littering waste everywhere. We have people defecating in open places and those defecating in polythene bags and dumping in corridors,” he said.

Mr Okeng added: “We then issued the nuisance notice but people were not responding positively, so we decided to begin enforcement.” 

He said if the landlords fail to improve on sanitation, their tenants will be evicted.
“We are going to fine those landlords Shs200,000 then we open their houses and give them a grace period of one month to construct the toilets. We are not allowing the construction of new pit-latrines. All the new sanitary facilities should be either a drainable pit latrine or water-borne toilets,” Mr Okeng explained further.

Current situation

The latrine coverage in Apac Municipality stands at 94 percent, hand washing is at 37 percent.  

The largest number of households and business premises without pit-latrines are in the central business area consisting of Temogo Ward in Arocha Division, Central Ward in Akere Division, Industrial Ward in Atik Division and Teibu Ward in Agulu Division.