Proscovia Namakula, a resident of corner zone in Kawempe, Kampala did not suspect any mischief when a new factory came into their neighbourhood.

This changed when she witnessed a plume of smoke coming from the factory. She became fearful about her health.

“The smoke causes eye and nose irritation and I always find it difficult to breathe when I get into contact with this smoke,” Namakula said.

“It is difficult to hide from this smoke because it will get to you even when you are under the bedsheets.”

Literally, the smoke from the factory is smoking out the residents from their homes. The residents have flooded their leaders including councillors and Mayors with complaints about the unpleasant environment but they do not have any help.

Namakula is one of the residents from Kawempe who shared testimonies about their ill-health which they claim is linked to the effects of pollution by industries on the surrounding communities in Kawempe. This was convened by Pan African Club, which also shared two studies conducted by Dr James Kimera.

Kimera has undertaken surveys on how pollution has been affecting air and water in Kawempe and has authored two reports containing views of the communities.

The reports released in September and October 2022 are titled Holding manufacturing companies accountable for pollution in Kawempe. They contain the views of the communities staying in the neighbourhood of the factories and also concerns about the regulating bodies; Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA).

“Kawempe has a high mortality and morbidity burden compared to other divisions of the city,” Kimera’s report states.

This comes hot on the heels of another study compiled by NEMA, which highlighted Kisenyi and Kawempe as Kampala’s most polluted areas. The air quality index for the two places is 157, which is way above the average air quality index of 100. In the same report, NEMA indicated that the air quality in Kisenyi and Kawempe is very unhealthy. The report was authored after studies conducted by Makerere University with support of KCCA and NEMA.

RESIDENTS, LEADERS SPEAK OUT

In some areas, the pollution from some of the factories is so bad that the iron sheets have changed colour.

“The iron sheets are now turning black,” Shamim Nanfuka, a local resident of Kawempe, said.

Richard Ssekimpi, the LC1 chairperson of Kiyanja LC1 in Kawempe, described the pollution as a time bomb. He said 26 factories were operating in residential areas.

The factories (names withheld) make different items, including plastics, skin processing, herbal medicine, milling, sanitisers, beverages, steel and tube.

“We cannot be safe if we do not have a good environment,” Ssekimpi said.

Apart from air pollution, Ssekimpi said that the water is contaminated with sewage spewed into the drains by industries. In addition, industries were releasing untreated or poorly treated wastewater into the spaces shared with the communities.

“We want to engage the owners of the factories and the regulators KCCA and NEMA,” he said, adding that factories provide employment to the population but they are also poisoning the health of the residents. “We should have a change of heart so that factories provide employment without destroying our health.”

Badru Makumbi, the deputy mayor of Kawempe said the Government has been blinded with money from taxes, but the population is likely to pay a high price when it comes to their health.

He also pointed out that the attention of politicians is captured by big impact. He cited an incident in which a factory belonging to AVIS in Kawempe exploded and claimed lives decades ago. After the incident, the factory closed over safety of the workers and the residents in the neighbourhood among other concerns.

“We need our people alive. The leaders should know that dead people do not vote,” said the Makumbi.

“We are focusing on one thing — collecting taxes. We should undertake activities with a view of sustainability.”

The residents pointed out that the factories are scattered in residential areas, making it difficult to collect the effluent in one place for subsequent treatment of the wastewater.

“We need to work effectively by locating the industries in one place,” Makumbi said.

He added: “There is a big problem with destroying trees and the ecological systems such as forests to make biomass energy-firewood charcoal. Why do we cook food with firewood? Electricity should be the cheapest source of energy and this would also help us to spare our trees and forests.”

Kimera said officials from KCCA and NEMA did not show up at the meeting yet they had confirmed their participation.

“It should be the responsibility of KCCA to protect the environment but the people responsible have not come,” Kimera said.

This, according to Herbert Kimbugwe, who is the LC 11 chairperson for Komamboga, is part of the impunity.

“The technical officers get a lot of money; they should be here to get the research findings and the views of the people.”

Josephine Bisaso, a resident of Komamboga, said KCCA is ruthless when evicting people with illegal business on the streets, but they are dragging when it to securing a clean and healthy environment, KCCA is nowhere to be seen.

KCC, NEMA SPEAKS OUT

Daniel Okello, the KCCA director of public health and environment, confessed that there is pollution in Kawempe.

He said they are crippled by a weak budget, which does not help when it comes to monitoring and compliance.

NEMA’s senior public relations officer, Tony Achidria said they did not attend the meeting because they had to attend to an emergency on pollution in Jinja city where residents were threatening to protest.

POLLUTION HOT SPOTS

The bulk of air in Kampala is compromised by many pollutants, ranging from dust and smoke to chemical fumes. This means the air we breathe poses a health hazard to humans. Experts say that for instance, when you walk along a busy city street, you will inhale something like 20 million particles in a single lungful, some of them smaller than the width of a human hair. Exposure to such pollution has become a big risk factor, silently causing deadly lung diseases.

A study conducted by Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) in 2018 under the Kampala Climate Change Project showed that levels of pollution are beyond the World Health Organisation (WHO) standard of 40 microgrammes in 11 out of 14 sites around Kampala.

KCCA recently carried out a survey and discovered that air in Kampala city is most polluted during the morning peak hours (between 6:00am to 9:00am) and from 3:00pm to 10:00pm.

Apart from old vehicles, burning of rubbish and dusty roads, KCCA pointed out wood and charcoal stoves as other sources of pollution. More than 90% of households in Uganda still use charcoal and firewood.

Dr Bruce Kirenga, a lung expert at Makerere University, in a 2015 study on the State of Ambient Air Quality in Two Ugandan Cities, determined that the mean air pollution in Kampala and Jinja is 5.3 times in respect to safe levels recommended by the WHO.

CHILDREN MOST AFFECTED

Dr Kirenga said the study sought to determine the amount of solid particles and pollutants in the atmosphere and their effect on children’s lungs and asthma.

Children aged below 15 years in peri-urban areas are the most affected.

The study indicated children in rural settings had “better and less damaged lungs” than those in urban settings, who were exposed to pollutants in the air.

But children in semi-urban areas, especially in central Jinja, who were exposed to outdoor pollutants from factories and car emissions and at the same time exposed to indoor pollutants from the use of charcoal and soot from paraffin use, had the “worst” lungs.

HEALTH WARNING

During commemoration of World Lung Day recently, Dr Simon Walusimbi, a Public Health Physician and Researcher at Makerere Lung Institute (MLI), said that risk factors for cancer include air pollution particularly in urban settings. He warned that respiratory diseases pose immense burden socially and economically.

“Respiratory diseases impose an immense health and socio-economic burden and taking care of our lungs is therefore more important than ever. The Global Impact of Respiratory Disease report (2021) indicate that respiratory diseases are the third leading cause of death worldwide after heart diseases and stroke,” Walusimbi added.

Respiratory diseases are among the leading cause of ill health among Ugandans, despite being preventable and economical to treat.

Statistics from the Ministry of Health, show that lung-related complaints account for 30% of the visits to health facilities.

WHO RAISES RED FLAG

Air pollution is a critical risk factor for non-communicable diseases in Uganda, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Globally, air pollution is responsible for about 25% of all adult deaths from stroke, 24% from heart disease, 43% from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and 29% from lung cancer, WHO estimates show.

 RECOMMENDATIONS

Residents recommended that the most affected people who have suffered from pollution should be compensated.

In addition, existing factories and new ones should put in place technology that cleans out wastewater and emissions before releasing them into the environment. This includes incinerators which burn without releasing emissions and effluent treatment plants.

Prior to setting up factories, the local people or their leaders should be engaged on how they are going to benefit from the enterprises and how they are going to be negatively affected.

The facilities should also contribute to tree planting drives since trees absorb some of the waste gases.

Pollution is not restricted to Kampala and Jinja, it is becoming a big problem in urban areas, according to Achidria.

He says most of the cities have unpaved roads, which produce dust that pollutes the air.

In addition, poor waste management is eating most urban areas and cities like plague. The residents resort to burning waste not knowing that they are causing a bigger problem of air pollution. In addition, factories are mixed up with residential areas, which produce a lot of waste-water.