Hoima district headquarters run without toilets

SANITATION

Hoima district local government headquarters at Kasingo cell in Hoima municipality lacks toilets and sanitary facilities for its staff because they are out of use.

Sources say the two flush toilets have not been functional for about a year after they were blocked due to poor usage and lack of water.

New Vision visited the office headquarters on Friday and found all toilet doors with inscriptions reading "flash toilets out of use, use outside latrine. By management".

This has forced the district officials to resort to utilising the abandoned pit latrine located a few metres from the office block.

A source on condition of anonymity, said it has on most occasions compelled the over 70 public servants who cannot use the unclean pit latrine at the district headquarters to trek for more than two kilometres in town to find a place of convenience.

A district official said they register complaints from workers and visitors that whenever they visit the district offices, they find it difficult to answer nature's call because the sanitary facilities are out of use.

A source said some important visitors who come to the office when in need of convenience are advised to go to the hotels in town or the available pit latrines in the neighbourhood.  

On Thursday the district hosted the 2017 Best Performers Awards ceremony. Some guests were seen making efforts to utilise the existing flush toilets, but failed after reading the ‘out of use' notice.

Jackson Mugenyi Mulindambura, the district secretary for health and education, admits the problem and promises that it will be handled urgently.

Mulindambura said the absence of good sanitary facilities exposes the public servants to hygiene-related illnesses such as typhoid, dysentery and cholera.

Another district official who preferred not to be named said the existing pit latrine is always dirty since it is accessed by the surrounding community.

The source also observed that the toilet has no tissue, soap and water for use although they are usually put in the budget.

Efforts to get a comment from Nathan Lujumwa, the Chief Administrative Officer, were futile by press time.

Bernadette Plan, the Hoima district Secretary for Finance and Planning, said the problem could be due to water shortage.

Perez Kyomuhangi, the acting district information officer, said the flush toilets were closed due to low water pressure, adding that the problem is to be fixed soon.