Mukono Residents Want Garbage Dumping at New KCCA Landfill Halted
Written by admin on September 23, 2021
Residents of Ddundu in Kyampisi Sub County, Mukono want Kampala Capital City Authority-KCCA to halt plans of dumping waste in the area.
KCCA bought land at Dundu measuring 134 acres to serve as the Greater Kampala Garbage dumping site and landfill. The site will also act as an integrated waste management centre with processing plants for electronic waste, biogas, fertilisers and plastic recycling.
However, residents are against plans by KCCA to start dumping waste at the site without plans of managing the waste. Last month, KCCA officials located various spaces on the land where they intend to dump waste whose processing will start after two years.
Christopher Kiwanuka, a resident at Dundu says improper disposal of waste in the area will cause air pollution, soil and water contamination yet various communities depend on the area for drinking water.
Five community wells are serving three villages of Bamutakudde, Buntaba and Ddundu.
Kiwanuka says during the various meetings with KCCA, they promised to extend piped water to the three villages to avoid infection and transmission of water-related diseases.
Sam Ndimukulaga, another resident says the project is likely to strain the community’s health and the only way they can benefit is through the physical infrastructural development such as roads and water extension lines.
The Kampala Capital City Authority Head of Public and Corporate Affairs Officer Daniel Muhumuza Nuwabine declined to comment on the concerns of the residents.
Hajji Rajab Lutwama, the KCCA land caretaker at Ddundu says residents should remain calm.
He noted that processing of waste will not commence before the establishment of the promised infrastructure such as roads, the extension of piped water and digging of deep pits.
Lutwama appeals to locals to embrace the project since it will help employ over 3,000 workers in the area. He also reveals that there are plans of compensating residents staying within 200 metres along the boundaries of the land.
The Kyampisi LCIII Chairperson Jamir Iga says that they will discuss the matter during the sub-county council.
According to KCCA, waste collection is still a challenge with a population of more than 1.5 million producing between 1,200 and 1,500 tonnes of waste daily of which 60 percent of it remains uncollected.