Ntoroko residents decry poor sanitation

Dec 09, 2017

There is only one borehole at the landing site and the latrine coverage is below 10%.

Residents of Kanara landing site on Lake Albert in Kanara town council Ntoroko district are concerned about the deteriorating sanitation in the area.

Lives of more than 15,000 residents are at risks because of lack of access to safe and clean water sources in the area and lack of latrines.

There is only one borehole at the landing site, so people depend on the water from the lake and, the latrine coverage is below 10% .

Gloria Kansiime, a resident of Kisenyi, said last week that most families don't have latrines and that they use the bushes to dump human waste.

"The whole town council is served by one borehole and at times it dries up and we depend on water from the lake yet some people use the lake for dumping human waste,"Kansiime said.

Jacob Businge, a fisherman at Kanara landing site, attributes the law latrine coverage to the Lack of law enforcement officers.

"The lack of enforcement officers has crippled the fight against poor sanitation and littering of the town with faecal matter. In some areas, people have turned the incomplete buildings into latrines. Others use bushes near their homes to relieve themselves," Businge said.

Businge said the local council officials in Kanara have failed to sensitise locals about sanitation and good hygiene.

At Ntoroko Primary School, the sanitation was in an appalling state, putting the lives of both the teachers and pupils in danger.

"Pupils share latrines with the teachers and the school has no piped water. It  depends on one community borehole for water," says Nyakana Emmanuel, a resident of Kanara.

Nyakana says some of the latrines at the school have also been blocked, which forces children to run back home to ease themselves or opt for the nearby bushes.

Ibrahim Ruhweza, a health assistant in Kanara town council, said cases of dysentery and diarrhea are on the increase in the area.

He blames the increasing cases of diarrhea and dysentery on the law latrine coverage and lack of clean water in the area.

He said they have have been forced to start conducting community outreaches within the communities around the landing site, sensitising the people on the dangers of drinking unboiled water and construction of latrines.

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