Mukono municipality residents protest high costs of garbage collection

Mukono, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Residents of Buguju Village in Mukono Municipality are protesting the costs of garbage collection.

In January, the municipality contracted De Waste to manage garbage in Goma division and Bins Kampala Limited in the Central Division as well as Namakya Enterprises Limited to manage the landfill at Katikoro.

However, until now the municipality has failed to come up with clear and fixed rates for the residents.

Wilber Daniels Mulondo, a resident from Buguju says before the firms were contracted, local garbage collectors could remove garbage dumped along the roads, but currently, the firms require them to pay between 18,000 to 40,000 Shillings every month to collect garbage from their homes.

Jamiru Balukusa, another resident wants the municipal authorities to revive the operations of the municipal trucks which are grounded at the headquarters.

In the agreement signed between Bins and the municipality, the powers to develop the pricing schedule were left to the contractor.

The Executive Director of Bins Kampala Limited, Paul Nduhura insists that the municipality has failed to sensitize residents about their responsibilities.   He notes that they use the money collected from locals to supplement what they receive from the municipality to fuel trucks and pay workers among other things.

Mukono Municipality Senior Law Enforcement Officer, James Nsimbi says the signed agreement between the municipality and the private garbage collector has so many loopholes and cannot solve the problem of garbage management.

He notes that they are yet to revise the terms of the contract.

According to the agreement, Bins is supposed to collect 50 tons of garbage on a daily basis but so far about 5 tons are collected besides several illegal dumping sites increasing in the area.

Statistics from the Mukono Municipality Environment Officer indicate that over 270 tons of garbage are generated on a daily basis within Goma and Mukono Central Division. However, only 69 tons are collected on a monthly basis.

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