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KCCA, Nema to supervise Busega soil dumping
Workers at the Mandela Millers construction site in Busega, Kampala last week. Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) have arranged with businessman Omar Mandela to safely dispose of the soil he has been accumulating at his Busega factory. PHOTO/STEPHEN OTAGE
What you need to know:
Last week, heavy rain triggered flash floods which caused rainwater mixed with soil from the site to overflow into nearby homes and businesses. This led to a dispute between residents and the company
Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) have arranged with businessman Omar Mandela to safely dispose of the soil he has been accumulating at his Busega factory.
In an interview yesterday, Mr Daniel NuweAbine Muhumuza, the KCCA spokesperson, said their teams from Rubaga Division met the Mandela Millers management and agreed to identify an appropriate location to dump the soil excavated from the expansion site, which has been piled up on the premises and is causing inconvenience to the neighboring community.
“There has been concern about the safety of the roads themselves because of the volume of the soil. We have agreed with them to identify a suitable location where to dispose the soil in a safe manner because the volumes are more than they had anticipated to excavate,” Mr Muhumuza said yesterday.
When asked whether the factory was doing the right thing by piling soil within the site premises, Dr Akankwasah Barirega, the executive director of Nema, said before issuing a permit for any construction involving soil excavation, they require the site to demonstrate where they will safely dispose of the soil. This is to prevent dumping in restricted areas like wetlands and forests.
“Sometimes the developer wants to keep the soil within the site so as to backfill the site to stabilise it when they have completed the construction. Before you start construction you have to tell us where you will dump the soil. It could be on a road construction site, or another construction site which wants to raise the level of the ground,” he said.
Last week, heavy rain triggered flash floods which caused rainwater mixed with soil from the site to overflow into nearby homes and businesses. This led to a dispute between residents and the company.
Mr Blair Karamuzi, the proprietor of Bongo Warehouse in Kigwanya Village in Lubaga Division, said their compound was filled with mud as a result.
“This has been going on for some time but we have not been helped…. they were stockpiling the mud in the eastern side of factory but stopped. They moved it to another site within their factory and now they have moved the mud closer to our buildings,” he said.
“We don’t know whether it is another way of inconveniencing us so that we can sell our land because much as he is dumping the soil in his own land, it is affecting us,” he added.
Efforts to get a comment from Mandela Millers management were futile by press time.
