The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Kampala Capital City Authority – KCCA has embarked on a process to renew contracts of the private garbage collecting companies in Kampala.
The six months controversial contract extension of Homkline, Nabugabo Updeal and Kampala Solid Waste Management Consortium is set to expire this month.
The six companies acquired a four year contract in 2016 to collect garbage in some parts of the city to boost the collection capacity of KCCA. But last year their contract was extended following a cabinet decision, a move highly opposed to by the authority political wing that demanded an evaluation of their performance.
KCCA then said they would assess performance and open up bids for new contractors to apply at the end of the six months.
However speaking to URN, the Authority’s spokesperson Peter Kaujju said without detail that they were in the process of renewing the contracts.
There have been questions about the operations of these companies with political leaders demanding an assessment of their performance.
Also traders organized under Kampala Arcade Traders Association last year petitioned KCCA and later the office of the president over what they called exorbitant charges by the companies.
Ggaba Market Chairman, Francis Katuramo says they pay Shillings 1.2 million monthly to Homkline to collect garbage every Tuesday and Friday. This week the company declined to collect garbage demanding Shillings 600,000 owed by the market. It was KCCA that sent a truck yesterday to rescue the situation.
Olive Namazzi, KCCA Executive Secretary in charge of Health says the extension of contract is backed by a letter from the office of the Minister for Kampala that called for an extension of contract. However Namazzi who is opposed to the move says it is unfair for KCCA to ignore queries raised and renew contracts without evaluation of the contractors’ performance.
Namazzi says KCCA should also build its own capacity to collect more garbage in the city.
According to KCCA, about 1,200–1,500 tonnes of garbage is generated daily and yet KCCA collects only about 400-500 tonnes of it. The authority needs at least 65 trucks but currently has only 16 operating ones.
Some leaders have also demanded that KCCA permits more companies to collect garbage and avoid the current monopoly. When KCCA contracted the three companies in 2016, another garbage collector Bin It Services Limited ran to court accusing KCCA, Kampala Solid Waste Management Consortium Ltd (Kasasiro) and Homeklin Uganda Limited of monopolizing garbage collection in certain parts of Kampala.
Court Ordered that KCCA withdraws a newspaper notice in which it declared the three companies as the ones licensed to collect garbage in the city but the authority did not respond. This prompted BIN It to go back to court and secured a court order standing the earlier orders and a fine of 500 million for contempt of court.
********
URN
