Six months in jail if caught littering

By Andrew Masinde

KAMPALA - Any resident of Katwe caught littering sewage and garbage in trenches will be arrested and thrown behind bars for six months, according to a fresh warning issued by the area councilor.

Deo Kasana passed the warning during a clean-up exercise organised by a local NGO, Shelter and Settlements Alternatives: Uganda Human Settlements Network (SSA:UHSNET) on the weekend.

SSA: UHSNET is a network involved in bringing together stakeholders in the human settlements sector to address constraints to adequate housing, especially for urban slum dwellers.

Katwe is home to hundreds of slum dwellers who make a living out of doing petty jobs within the city.

Councilor Kasana, responsible for Katwe Parish II, said because of their leniency, the area residents have been taking issues of sanitation for granted.

“How can one stay in an environment full of faeces and sewage flowing all over their compounds? This time we are not going to be soft with everyone,” he insisted.

“Landloads should take the initiative to warn their tenants because we are going to arrest them [their tenants] and they will have to spend six months in jail. This will teach others a lesson; it is going to be with effect from now,” declared Kasana.

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Women residing in the area have been engaged in productive work. PHOTO/Andrew Masinde

The councilor plans to work with local council members to put in place by-laws on garbage disposal and littering, in a move aimed at improving the sanitation levels of the area.

The residents on Saturday got their hands busy – cleaning people’s homes, clogged canals and swept the dusty roads in Katwe Zone B.

After the clean-up exercise, women in the area affected by HIV/Aids were trained in different entrepreneurship activities that included craft-making, making candles.

They also received counseling on how to live a positive life.

The executive director of SSA:UHSNET, Dorothy Baziwe said the reason they chose Katwe and the HIV/Aids women was the level of vulnerability.

“During our charity works in these areas, we discovered hundreds of these women are poor and they leave in very dirty areas.

"They had no means of survival, so we decided that we mobilize them in groups and started training them in income-generating activities such as crafts-making and matters concerning good housing.

“We shall help them achieve good accommodation through training and capacity development,” said Baziwe.