Over 1,000 Kampala city cleaners benefit from safety drive
Speaking during the handover of the safety gear, Workers’ Member of Parliament (MP) Abdulhu Byakatonda said safety is a vital part of decent work.
Linda Keitany, PSI Project coordinator (Right) and Dr. Everline Aketch, Sub-regional Secretary for English-speaking Africa (Second Right) hand over reflector jackets to street sweepers along Gayaza Road in Kawempe Division on Thursday, 21 August 2025. (Photos by Colleb Mugume)
By Rhyman Agaba
Journalists @New Vision
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At least 1,350 street sweepers across Kampala’s five divisions are set to improve their visibility on the city’s busy roads after receiving more than 1,000 reflector jackets.
Speaking during the handover of the safety gear, Workers’ Member of Parliament (MP) Abdulhu Byakatonda said safety is a vital part of decent work.
He explained that the initiative is in line with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 155, which addresses issues related to occupational safety.
Byakatonda made the remarks on Thursday, August 21, at Nsambya on Ggaba Road, one of the eight distribution points.
“So, this gesture of giving reflector jackets is very important because we want to identify the workers because they are working in busy streets where vehicles are very common, and I think it's important to identify them so that they can be seen from a distance,” he said.
He also urged employers to respect workers’ rights and advised the sweepers, who are clustered under their various divisional Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations (SACCO), to make proper use of these facilities.
Workers’ Member of Parliament, Abdulhu Byakatonda (Second left second row), Public Services International Officials and Kampala street sweepers interact during the distribution of Personal protective equipment exercise on Thursday, 21 August 2025.
Through this government and civil society partnership, each division of Kampala received 200 jackets in different colours, including green, yellow, orange, black and blue, with reflective stripes to enhance visibility.
Distribution points included Namuwongo, Kalerwe, Kanyanya and Rubaga, where the jackets were handed over between 6 am and 10 am on Thursday.
Jennifer Ssali, vice chairperson of the Makindye East community SACCO, welcomed the initiative with joy and gratitude.
“We are excited that this organisation has come to supply this safety wear because our workers have been experiencing challenges while working by the roadside. We have encountered so many accidents due to the inability to easily identify us,” she told New Vision.
She added that the jackets will be crucial in reducing the number of accidents along the roads where they operate.
Bob Nyanzi, chairperson of the Rubaga Division community SACCO, also praised the initiative, saying it would save countless lives of sweepers who spend long hours cleaning roads, particularly in the early morning hours when visibility is poor.
“We thank PSI for these 200 reflector jackets, because they are going to help save many lives, and will help us perform our work much better,” he said.
Agatha Namirembe, chairperson of Public Services International (PSI) in charge of East and West Africa, stressed the need for more protective equipment, including gloves, masks and safety footwear such as boots, to safeguard sweepers from germs and dust.
“This is an initiative that we started in Mbale and Namutumba. We are now in Kampala; we give back to the community. It is very important for casual labourers to organise themselves into unions because unions can ably defend workers’ rights,” she stated.
Uganda Local Government Workers Union (ULGWU), represented by national treasurer Miria Mukami, also emphasised workers’ safety, highlighting their campaign under the tag Respect Waste Workers.
She argued that solid waste workers are essential to the city, which would otherwise be in a filthy state without their services.
The handover was witnessed by officials from Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) and Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL).
PSI’s sub-regional secretary for English-speaking Africa, Dr Everline Aketch, noted that her organisation has been engaging waste workers for the past five years.
“And one of the last engagements we had with them as a gap in June, they said they did not have reflector jackets,” she said. Adding, “And this is actually putting their lives in danger when motorists are passing by as they clean the roads.”
She called on KCCA to equip the workers with additional safety gear, including boots, helmets, masks and gloves, to improve their health and safety.
The distribution was also attended by Edward Mpagi, manager of the Makindye community Sacco (a KCCA subcontractor), Milly Kirya, a psychologist attached to PSI, and Linda Keitany, PSI’s regional project coordinator. The exercise was secured by Uganda Police to prevent disorder during the handover.