KCCA names hot spots for floods

Whenever it rains, pedestrians, motorists and slum dwellers, who operate or reside in flood prone areas are at risk.
 The Executive Director of Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), Ms Dorothy Kisaka, said there are specific areas in the five divisions of the city that have always been vulnerable to floods.
 Ms Kisaka named Clock Tower near Queens Way, Meat Packers, Portbell, Mukwano near the Kibuli Police Barracks, Kanywankoko in Kitintale, areas near Lugogo Mall, and Kasanga-Ggaba as the high risk areas.

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 She attributes the floods to poor waste management, encroachment on wetlands and water draining corridors.
 “We are building in Lubigi and Namamiro and other drainage systems around the city. We are starting a huge project in the next few months that will see drainages constructed, 70kms of roads that are going to be constructed under the African Development Bank project,” Ms Kisaka said.
 Ms Kisaka said President Museveni has tasked administrators to ensure that no one settles or undertakes development in wetlands in order to conserve the environment.
 “Encroaching on the water corridor is a bad habit that has gone on for years and it is causing more flooding around the city,” she said.

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 Ms Kisaka appealed to city dwellers to heed to the existing laws, adding that a multisectoral approach is needed if wetlands are to be protected.
 “This is an inter-ministerial effort that should happen. Titles and permissions for purchasing wetlands should not be issued,” she advised.
  Ms Kisaka also cautioned residents against dumping in drainage systems.
 “Poor waste management practices are a challenge. When organic waste is dumped into these drainages, when it rains, the affected areas flood as running water will not be able to flow easily,” she said.
 City floods have not only paralysed transport but also claimed lives and contributed to easy spread of diseases.

Background

Last month, the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) evicted people who had settled in Lubigi swamp.
The encroachers had constructed homes and grown food and cash crops  on the water catchment area.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, wetlands contribute to water purification, de-nitrification and detoxification, waste water treatment, and provision of food such as fish.