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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Kampala Capital City Authority-KCCA has resolved to halt the implementation of a new contract issued to concessionaires involved in garbage collection in the city.
The political leadership of KCCA wants the authority to first audit the three companies to assess their efficiency and capacity before they can be allowed to collect waste in different parts of the city. KCCA renewed contracts of Nabugabo Updeal, Kampala Solid Waste Limited and Homklin on June 30th, 2021, for ten years amidst accusations of giving them monopoly in the business.
Lubaga North 1 councillor Jeremiah Keeya Mwanje, said KCCA needs to audit the three companies to see if they have been compliant with the rules and regulations issued by the authority. He also wondered why the concessionaires were not paying any money to KCCA for using its landfill in Kiteezi especially now that the site is full and KCCA is struggling to find finances to develop the new site in Ddundu Mukono.
Mwanje submitted that the Directorate of Public Health, Environment and Legal Affairs directed that the said contracts be presented before the Public Health Commission of the council for scrutiny and review.
Makerere University Councilor Micdad Muganga noted the frustration expressed by his colleagues in council was a clear indication that there was something wrong with the issuance of the contract to the concessionaires. He noted that queries raised in the council including failure by the companies to purchase land for a land landfill and having a few trucks shows that they are incompetent.
Council resolved to halt the implementation of the contracts before forwarding the matter to the Committee on Public Health for review. The decision followed a presentation by the Deputy Lord Mayor, Doreen Nyanjura from a report submitted to the central executive committee by the Directorate of Public Health and Environment of KCCA.
The directorate informed the City Executive Committee that the companies had low capacity like small trucks, which couldn’t effectively collect the large amounts of garbage and that they had awarded a 10 year contract such that they can secure a bank loan to boost capacity.
The report also stated that the concessionaires had failed to secure a dumping site and hence continued to use the KCCA landfill in Kiteezi yet it is full. The Director of Public Health and Environment Dr. Daniel Okello told the council of how the authority is still grappling with garbage collection.
KCCA has only 12 functional garbage collection trucks. Dr. Okello told the council that while they passed a budget to buy ten more trucks, the procurement process is yet to start. While responding to the issue of awarding the 10-year contract to the concessionaires, Dr. Okello said they called for bids in May and that’s how they came to issue the contracts to the three companies. Kampala produces over 2,000 tons of garbage per day.
However, only about 56 percent is collected with the concessionaires collecting 32 percent and KCCA 24 percent.
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