KAMPALA– Legislators on parliament’s Committee on Climate Change are disturbed by the poor state of the Kampala Capital City Authority [KCCA]’s landfill in Kiteezi, Wakiso district.
During an oversight visit to the facility yesterday, the MPs accompanied by both KCCA ministers were shocked by the stench emitted by the landfill to the surrounding communities.
The landfill engineer, Joel Mwesigye told the MPs 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 Kapelobyong County MP Anthony Esenu.
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 as he watched casual labourers sort waste at the facility without the protective gear.
The committee chairperson, 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, MP 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.
https://thecooperator.news/kcca-opens-court-to-receive-property-rate-cases/
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