Kampala garbage crisis: Buganda tasks govt on waste incineration
In this file photo, Buganda Prime Minister Peter Mayiga gestures as he delivers his remarks at the start of the FY2024-25 budget reading Lukiiko at Bulange, Mengo on June 24, 2024. PHOTO/FRANK BAGUMA
What you need to know:
- Until last week, nearly all of Kampala’s daily 2,500 tonnes of garbage were dumped at the Kiteezi landfill.
Buganda Prime Minister (katikkiro) Charles Peter Mayiga has asked government to embark on waste incineration as a solution to the garbage crisis in Kampala, which is located in the kingdom.
On Tuesday, Mayiga told journalists that government should immediately start the process of obtaining an incinerator for Uganda’s capital.
“Currently we have over 4m people in Kampala and within three years the number will exceed 6m. This means the volume of garbage will be increasing too,” he observed.
“There is no place that will accommodate the volume of garbage we collect from Kampala forever, instead we need an incinerator to manage the problem in long run,” Mayiga added.
He also suggested the alternative of a recycling plant as a lasting solution to Kampala’s waste problem.
“With a recycling system, the public will benefit more from the plant with getting fertilizers, charcoal and electricity,” Mayiga noted, speaking in the aftermath of an August 10 garbage collapse that claimed over 35 lives in Wakiso District.
Further, Mayiga also viewed that Katabi is not a suitable temporary dumpsite for garbage from Kampala’s populous five divisions.
“The site is near Lake Victoria, which puts the water body at risk of being contaminated without a garbage treatment plant,” he said in Kampala.
According to him, resorting to Dundu in neighbouring Mukono District will also not permanently solve the garbage problem.
“There is no need to discuss more about the current garbage crisis in Kampala. Instead, the government should act immediately, “he emphasized.
Until last week, nearly all of Kampala’s daily 2,500 tonnes of garbage were dumped at the Kiteezi landfill.
After the Kiteezi landfill collapse, KCCA, which manages the dumpsite, got stranded with garbage until Entebbe Municipal Council agreed to allow them to use Katabi dumping site for one month after serious negotiations.
According to junior relief minister Lillian Aber, more than 1,000 people across three villages were affected by the Kiteezi landfill garbage collapse.
Government estimates the damage to have affected nearly 100 residences.
