Download logoMembers of Parliament on the Committee on Climate Change are disappointed with the state of the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) manned landfill in Kiteezi, Wakiso district on the outskirts of the capital, Kampala.
During an oversight visit to the facility on Thursday, 08 September 2022, MPs accompanied by both KCCA ministers, were disturbed by the rudimentary manner of its management and the stench emitted by the landfill.
MPs learnt from the landfill engineer, Joel Mwesigye, that the stench at times stretches to the surrounding towns of Kyanja and Gayaza.
“There are modern ways of designing and managing landfills. If you do business this way, you are doing a disservice to the country,” said Hon. Anthony Esenu (NRM, Kapelebyong County).
Esenu said the landfill discourages economic activities in the neighbouring areas. “Can any one set up a hotel in Kiteezi or the neighborhood? Me, I cannot!” he said and expressed reservation about how the casual labourers sort waste at the facility without protective gear.
The committee chairperson, Hon. Lawrence Songa, expressed worry that air pollution in Kampala was not only a threat to the environment and health of the citizens but also to generating revenue from tourism.
“The quality of air is really affecting tourism. There are many people who say I do not want to come to Kampala because of the air quality,” said Songa.
As a result, Eng. Mwesigye said the community had sued the authority over the stench, acknowledging that the landfill was over utilised.
“We have a landfill that has been over utilised. The smell pollutes the environment as the slopes of the facility are exposed and the quality of oxygen in the area is poor,” said Mwesigye.
He said KCCA had identified 135 acres of land in Ddundu, Mukono district, where they planned to establish a modern landfill and seal off the Kiteezi facility. However, he revealed that they were facing resistance from the community.
The State Minister for KCCA and Metropolitan Affairs, Hon. Kyofatogabye Kabuye, said they were in talks with community leaders from Mukono and Wakiso districts to allow the proposed facility in Ddundu.
He asked Parliament to support the authority in developing a waste management policy that would benefit KCCA and other cities.
The committee during its oversight visits assessed KCCA’s response to climate change and also visited the Lubigi drainage system in Bwaise, another Kampala suburb and Proteen, a waste processing company in the industrial area.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.
