Kampala’s deplorable drainage: What is KCCA doing about it?

Seventy-year-old Night Namubiru’s house is a simple, brick and iron roof three-bedroom structure, sitting on a large neat compound. The compound has a wooden rack where kitchen utensils are washed and dried near a water tank and in another corner, a two-stance pit latrine.

Namubiru’s compound is cleared of stagnant water and shrubs that would harbour dangerous parasites, reptiles and animals. This is what I call a safe home,” Namubiru boasts.

“I do not have to worry about anything. At my age, I feel safe. A safe home has, since time immemorial, been clean. It was never about modern, sophisticated wares. It was about adherence to basic, but very important hygiene standards,” she explains.

Simon Buwembo, a resident of Bwaise, a Kampala suburb, is not so lucky. He also tries to be clean but says the rate at which unplanned houses are springing up in the area is frustrating his efforts.

“The rising demand for land and houses has led to the reclamation of many swamps and water catchment areas, hence creating slum conditions,” he explains.

Many places like this, he observes, include the suburbs of Kyebando, Kawaala, Nakawa, Kalerwe and Kawempe.

“As a result, water diverted from its natural route during reclamation finds new routes, stagnating in the area,” Buwembo laments.

“Flooding sometimes worsens because of lack of rubbish disposal mechanisms, especially plastics, which block the drainage channels. 

Harriet Nalule, who works at Kalerwe market, says it is common to find a food stall above a small trench of dirty, dark-greenish stagnant water. People cook and serve food from such filthy places.

Nalule says Kalerwe market, which is located along a road, has poor drainage, like many other markets in Kampala, which are clogged with garbage.

One thing that is common with most of the above places is the poor drainage infrastructure, which endangers people’s lives.

A study by Makerere University Associate Professor and lecturer, Dr Agnes Rwashana Semwanga, indicated that these areas have a high water table and due to the poor drainage infrastructure, all dirt floats to the surface. Pit-latrines, she says, fill quickly because they are shallow and makeshift. All these, she says, end up in water sources, places where children play and areas where people conduct their businesses and live.

According to Dr Hassan Mayanja, this has resulted in rampant waterborne and sanitation diseases, which include diarrhoea, dysentery and cholera.

SANITATION COSTS

A 2015 Value for Money report by the Auditor General on the management of sewage in urban areas revealed that poor sanitation costs the country sh389b annually, which is equivalent to 1.1% of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

In addition, the Auditor General said the economic implications of sanitation-related illnesses go beyond the immediate health issues to loss of productivity and death. The diseases also result in the reallocation of resources from other essential items, the report noted.

According to the report, just like other cities in Africa, good sanitation in Kampala is not moving at the same pace with urbanisation and industrialisation.

“Less than 7.5% of Kampala residents are served by a public sewer, with the vast majority relying on various forms of on-site sanitation of variable quality and effectiveness,” the report said.

According to the report, Uganda generates about 7.62 million cubic

metres (7.62 billion litres) of wastewater annually, half of which is in Kampala.

KCCA’S TAKE

Eng. David Luyimbazi, the KCCA deputy executive director, says the challenge is that the main drainages are at times overpowered by heavy runoff waters. The main channels, such as Nakivubo, he says, ought to be helped by the small drainages to ease the flow.

Luyimbazi explained in an interview that KCCA is trying to upgrade more drainage channels to help the main ones to channel water away from the city.

Pedestrians perched on a private pick-up truck to help them cross floods in Namanve Industrial Park along Jinja-Kampala road

“This will help us get rid of the problem of persistent flooding, which has greatly reduced the lifespan of our roads,” he says.

However, Luyimbazi also blamed the public, saying they frustrate KCCA’s efforts by dumping garbage in the drainage channels, which triggers the backflow of water, causing poor sanitation.

Christine Nanyonga, a local leader in Bwaise, says: “We passed a resolution requiring all traders and property owners in the area to have rubbish bins at their premises and this has improved cleanliness and garbage management.

This way, Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) garbage trucks easily pick it up, but most of the residents are big-headed,” Nanyonga said.

RISKY DISEASES

As a result of poor drainage, stagnant water becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes, increasing cases of malaria. The damp environment also increases cases of fungal infections. There is also diarrheal diseases, especially among children.

PREVENTION

Mayanja advises that communities can build and maintain better drainage channels and ask for funds from the government and other funders to address their issues.

“KCCA and local leaders can work with residents, for example, to extend piped water to these areas,” Mayanja says.

He also advises connecting waterlogged areas to the national water and sewerage system to ensure that they have water-borne toilets, which should be a solution for the high-water table.

Also, he says some areas should be re-gazetted and people occupying them relocated to safer places and protection of swamps be enforced.