Museveni warns against toilet fees

Sep 14, 2010

PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has warned operators of public toilets and markets against overcharging people. The President described the practice as “parasitism”.

By Francis Kagolo

PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has warned operators of public toilets and markets against overcharging people. The President described the practice as “parasitism”.

“I have been told of markets where poor sellers of tomatoes are charged empooza (market dues) of sh500 per day. How is this possible?” he asked.

Museveni expressed concern over the failure by operators of markets to develop common facilities to improve people’s standards of living.

“Instead of developing common facilities in markets, business people make huge money out of people defecating. For somebody to use a toilet in Nakawa market, he must pay sh200. This is not acceptable,” he stressed.

Museveni made the remarks while addressing delegates at the opening of the second NRM national conference at Mandela National Stadium in Namboole on Saturday.

Delegates had gathered to vote new office-bearers to lead the party in the next five years.

Running public toilets in towns has become a gold mine, especially in Kampala.

Kampala City Council estimates that there are over 2,550 users of public toilets per day.

According to a recent Saturday Vision survey, public toilet operators in Nakasero market and the Old Taxi Park, for instance, charge sh500 for bathing, sh200 ablution, sh300 long calls and sh200 for short calls.

The survey revealed that an operator can make at least sh12,000 per hour just from one item.

Meanwhile, Museveni said the just-concluded primaries demonstrated that the NRM party is strong, but regretted the malpractices that characterised the process.

According to a press statement from State House, Museveni explained that he had not had time to do a post-mortem of the process, but vowed to take action after a clear analysis.

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