Committee resolves to pay KCCA casual workers

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A special committee established to audit operations of casual workers in Kampala has resolved to pay city cleaners who continued to work after the expiry of their contracts.

More than 3,000 cleaners from the five divisions worked under SACCOS contracted by Kampala Capital City Authority-KCCA to clean the streets, desilt drainage channels, maintain city green and collect garbage among others.

Each division had contracted SACCOs whose contracts expired on September 15, 2021 and haven’t been renewed.  The workers however continued to work.

Speaking at the KCCA council meeting held on Thursday at City Hall, the Executive Secretary in charge of Finance and Administration, John Mary Sebuwufu said that since September, the office of the Lord Mayor has received numerous complaints from cleaners over nonpayment.

The Lord Mayor constituted a committee to audit operations of the reservation scheme under which the SACCOS were established.

The ten-member committee was headed by the Director of Administration and Human Resources Grace Akullo. Other members were, Donny Kitabire the acting Director of Treasury Services, Daniel Okello Ayen, the Director of Public Health and Environment, Janet Luzinda, the Manager of Learning & Development, and Agnes Bugaba, the Manager of Internal Audit.

Others were Jude Byansi, the Manager of water and sanitation, Bob Kwanza, the manager of policy, Ivan Kirya, the acting Manager of Management Accounting, Brian Baagala, the supervisor of Drainage and Isaac Mugumbule, the supervisor of Landscape.

Sebuwufu said that the committee had recommended payment and the city executive committee approved that the workers be paid for the work done since their contract expired.

According to the audit report, the committee found that the SACCOs were not self-reliant, their structures were not streamlined with relevant designations and roles and had limited funding which hindered their operations.

It was also found that the SACCOs failed to organize Annual General Meetings, sharing of interest earned on saving to members at end of the year and lacked adequate working tools, equipment and personal protective equipment -PPEs.

Nasur Masaba, the Deputy Speaker of KCCA says that is unfortunate that casual workers have not been paid for months because there was no clear contract and guidelines on their operations.

The report shall be discussed in detail by the committee of the whole house to be constituted during the next council sitting yet to be scheduled.

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