The Acting Executive Director of Kampala Capital Authority (KCCA), Frank Rusa has revealed that some cracks have been sighted at the west side of Kiteezi landfill slope, thus indicating a looming tragedy if the people still living in the buffer zone don’t leave.
He made the revelation yesterday, while interfacing with MPs on the Presidential Affairs Committee, where he had been summoned to update MPs on progress of compensation and solutions to waste management in Kampala.
“I have received a report this morning that another crack has been seen of the west side of the slope, so we have asked security agencies and all our sister Local Governments to increase the intensity of asking our people to leave the buffer zone because the danger is still available,” said Rusa.
Rusa also revealed that the Authority had abandoned its plans to utilize the dumping site in Ddundu, located in Mukono district but rather resettle the victims of Kiteezi there and expedite the purchase of two pieces of land, each measuring 200 acres within Kampala that will be used as the new dumping site, following the decommissioning of Kiteezi.
“We have received guidance from Cabinet that there will be a need to immediately procure two sites of 200acres each, we think these sites should be in different sides of the city so that we don’t have the problem of crisscrossing the city with garbage tracks, heading to one destination. We have a plan to resettle some of the affected people into Ddundu. So instead of carrying the garbage from Kiteezi to Ddundu, as a raw material for the waste plan, we think it makes sense that we take the human beings to Ddundu and leave Kiteezi as a waste management facility. Some people want to go, some people are saying they don’t want to go,” noted Rusa.
According to KCCA, the Kiteezi landfill tragedy saw Government retrieve 35 bodies, while10 people are still missing, and the tragedy produced different kinds of victims, including the group whose houses were destroyed by the garbage, while there were houses destroyed by excavators who came to rescue survivors, and in order to access the landfill, they broke down 24 houses and drove in through excavators.
Rusa also informed the Committee that there were victims who were tenants and lost their homes, and although KCCA was advised to immediately create a buffer zone to protect further damage and destruction of property and lives, there are over 400 houses located in the temporarily established buffer zone, where the people occupying these homes have also been requested to vacate for their own security and safety in the interim.
Rusa explained, “The Government, through the Office of the Prime Minister provided UGX2M to find new places to rent and start their lives. There was also UGX2M given to landlords who has houses destroyed as a temporary measure to get temporary accommodation as an inter-ministerial technical Committee gets into the process of fast-tracking of evaluation of their properties and arriving at compensation sums, which the Government of Uganda has committed to pay at a debt to be communicated.”
Despite the glossy and optimistic picture painted by Rusa about the future of Kampala, Rose Obigah was skeptical about that future arguing that so much money has been sunk into Kampala but the City is still trash.
She said, “A lot of money has been sunk into our city called Kampala, but what we get as an end product is an embarrassment. And you are gentlemen and ladies, honestly, what you have presented to this country is nothing but rubbish-uselessness. You said that money has been given for solid waste, the other day, rain got me downtown, the way real solid faeces was flowing like a river. The new team, what do you have for this Kampala to manage real faeces in colours, you fear, who is going to clean my car.”
Obigah further questioned the competence of the team at KCCA, wondering how the Alternative Budget by the Opposition in Parliament can have better ideas than the Authority, saying KCCA’s poor performance has left the MPs on the Presidential Affairs Committee traumatized with the shame they have to carry.
“The Alternative Budget was better, how can the Opposition give you a better budget and use of money? You are just occupying space, all of you here, I want to say, you are occupying space if not, justify this in few months. You see the issue of this Capital City, we the Committee of Presidential Affairs, we carry a big shame on these people’s behalf, it’s very traumatizing. You go to the taxi park, you are talking about bringing better transport, do you see the taxis that carry people, it tears your kitengi,” said Obigah.
Robert Kasolo (Iki Iki County) urged the new KCCA team to focus on key priorities to focus on, arguing that at the moment, the Capital City is too sick to try treat all its ailments at ago.
“You must have a point where to start from. The whole of Kampala is sick, you can’t convince this Committee that you can do everything at ago. But you must identify phases how you are going to start because Kampala is totally sick. KCCA is sick, now, you need to start somewhere, but the way you have brought many things on table, that is what has made many people fail,” noted Kasolo.
The KCCA Acting Director also informed the Committee that the Kiteezi tragedy begot other tragedies, as the mudslide at Kiteezi, saw a garbage heap block a channel and following the blockage, there is currently a backflow of water, that is mixed up with a very dangerous substance that comes out of compressed garbage and it is threatening the lives of people in the neighbouring areas.
“As we speak, I was there 2 says ago, 84 houses were partially submerged and we are trying to use a combination of 10 excavators to break through and get the water flowing back in its natural way,” said Rusa.
The Authority however informed the Committee that following the decommissioning of Kiteezi Landfill, priority has been put on the purchase of land because although the Authority has benefitted from the generosity of Local Governments of Entebbe, Mukono and Wakiso, their generosity has been stretched by the huge volumes of rubbish generated daily within Kampala, and it isn’t surprising that the Authority has started experiencing resistance from locals near the temporary dumping sites.
“We ate going to put up a call for proposals that explains in a comprehensive way the kind of solution that we seek, not just for Kampala but solutions in Uganda. We believe that as soon as we get the land to reduce the pressure of dumping, we will have some breathing space, to make some detailed, comprehensive, coherent, analytical assessment of the various solutions being provided by these people to find what is best aligned to the context to the needs of our country, so that we can be able,” stated Rusa.
留言