Pader has never seen tarmack,Nakasongla battling stray animals
Oct 16, 2013
From the look of things, it is undeniable that Pader town council is on the upward trend of development. With the carving of Pader district off Kitgum in 2000, Pader town council, which now boasts of upcoming hotels, commercial banks, SACCOS and retail businesses, too, became operational
By Watuwa Timbiti and Cornelius Lubangakene
trueIn the Make Uganda Clean campaign, Vision Group is profiling major urban centres in the country, highlighting their sanitation situation, culminating into a gala night on November 25, where the cleanest towns will be recognised. Today, we bring you profiles of Pader and Nakasongola towns
From the look of things, it is undeniable that Pader town council is on the upward trend of development. With the carving of Pader district off Kitgum in 2000, Pader town council, which now boasts of upcoming hotels, commercial banks, SACCOS and retail businesses, too, became operational. However, such development comes with a host of planning and sanitation challenges which, the town authorities have to deal with.
For instance, although slightly more than half (55%) of the respondents in a Vision Group survey acknowledge that the town, whose population is about 12,000, has a cleaning schedule for the roads, streets, market areas and dustbins, residents are unsatisfied with the town’s cleanliness.
The dissatisfaction could be attributed to a narrow distribution of dustbins in the town. For instance, according to the survey, 36% of the respondents have seen dustbins but considered them insufficient, dirty and not easy to locate. With dustbins difficult to locate, residents dump rubbish haphazardly. At least 87% of the respondents testify they have seen someone litter the town in the past three months. The town is also considered to be polluted. On the other hand, people’s attitude has a direct bearing on sanitation.
For instance, according to the survey, the residents’ environment and sanitation discipline is poor. Only 19% of the respondents have avoided littering, is insignificant if real change is to be realised. An insignificant 6% avoid pollution activities like burning. Pader, has one health centre, seven primary and two secondary schools, but has no tarmacked roads and no street lights.
The roads are mainly murram (97%) and with many potholes, and most of the buildings have old paint. The town does not have piped water, so depends on boreholes. The water is regular and clean, the survey states. Pader has no noise control programme. As such 74% of the respondents feel the town is noisy, attributing the noise mainly to taxi operators.
Loitering animals and poultry remain a challenge to the town’s sanitation drive. At least 90% of the respondents have seen livestock or poultry loitering in the town in the past six months. Goats are the majority (74%) followed by cows (68%) and pigs (23%). The town, according to 94% of the respondents, has overgrown grass and the maintenance levels are poor.
Budget constraints: Personnel shortage
The town clerk, Benson Humphrey Otim, says inadequate funds is partly the reason for the town’s sanitation challenges. “For instance, local revenue is hard to generate because people do not want to pay dues; they just have to be forced,” he says, adding: “Others connive with town council agents and pay less and sometimes the money is not even receipted.” Similarly, Otim explains that the town council has a sh527m budget of which, sh60m is expected from local revenue and sh467m from the central government. “We have a budget of about sh51.4m for garbage and drainage as well as repairs of our trucks and tractor,” Otim explains.
Revenue limitations have a direct impact on staffing Otim says law enforcement is poor due personnel shortage, for instance, they have only eight staff instead of the desired 51. “We are asking the central government to allow us recruit staffs from here so that we may close the staffing gap,” he adds According to Otim all is not lost as measures have been put in place to address sanitation challenges.
There is bi-weekly (Tuesday and Friday) door-todoor garbage collection programme. Although the town has never seen sewage bursts, its latrine coverage is poor and they are dirty; only 39% of the respondents have seen a public latrine in the town.
MAYOR’S VIEW
Joseph Lapit, says establishing new roads has been a challenge due to challenges of land management. For example, some people oppose opening of new roads, which are already planned.
NAKASONGOLA DISTRICT
16 years later, Nakasongola still battling stray animals
By Watuwa Timbiti and Frederick Kiwanuka
Sixteen years after Nakasongola was granted town council status, as a result of the creation of Nakasongola district, carved out of Luwero district in 1997, the town has not been surveyed and still lacks a structural plan. The town, with a population of 19,000, is messy, with unplanned establishments.
There are homes, commercial buildings, factories and maize gardens, all in one location. Although such unplanned settlements present sanitation challenges, the situation in Nakasongola town, as shown in a recent survey by Vision Group is different. Residents, although unsatisfied with the availability of dustbins, are generally satisfied with the town’s cleanliness, with more than half of the respondents reporting that it has a cleaning schedule. Just 39% of the respondents say they have seen dustbins and even for those available few, locating them is difficult.
A small proportion (44%) of the respondents have seen someone litter the town in the past three months, 56% report having avoided littering, while just only 11% have taken part in exercises to clean the town. Similarly, only 11% of the respondents have sensitised people about living in a clean environment. Twenty-two percent of the respondents have done nothing to improve cleanliness of Nakasongola town, whose economic activity mainly characterised by plywood manufacturing factory, banks, fuel stations and retail trade.
On the other hand, the town is unsafe at night. Although the national power grid is the main source of lighting (50%), followed by generators (39%), respondents have not seen street lights in the town. The town whose authorities are battling pollution challenges from a plywood factory, depends on piped water, which is said to be clean and regular. The water is pumped from Lake Kyoga, 17km away, and water shortages are only experienced when power goes off.
The authorities say the plywood factory which is located in the town centre, is a health threat ,considering the thick smoke it emits. “The factory administrators have continuously pledged to alleviate the smoke problem by fixing smoke filtering devices,” Zziwa says.
With majority of the roads partially tarmacked (44%) or fully tarmacked (22%) and with many potholes (6.9/10), the town’s road network is still wanting. On the other hand, the town, whose buildings have both old and new paint, according to the survey, is believed to have a noise control programme and half of the respondents (50%) feel the town is not noisy.
The noise is attributed to prayers and boda boda riders. Loitering livestock is a common sight in the town, with 78% of the respondents acknowledging that they have seen livestock/ poultry loitering regularly in the town in the past six months, with goats being the commonest.
The presence of animals in the town is linked to the presence of overgrown grass. Sixty percent of the respondents say they have seen overgrown grass in the town and its maintenance is poor. “The overgrown grass in the undeveloped plots attract cattle owners to graze in town,” Zziwa says. Although there are laws barring residents from grazing their animals in the town, the enforcement is lax.
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One of Nakasongola’s busy streets. Photos by Frederick Kiwanuka
GARBAGE
Disposal is twice a month
To handle refuse, the authorities have constructed nine refuse bunkers, where residents collect garbage from their workplaces and homes, according to Mayor Zziwa. The garbage, he explains, is taken to a dumping site only twice a month due to limited funds. Of the town’s sh500m budget passed this financial year, sh20m is committed to sanitation, which, according to Zziwa, is not enough.
To ensure proper sanitation, he says, they need sh100m. The town, which is dotted with undeveloped plots of land, bushes, incomplete buildings and gardens, is faring badly on toilet coverage. Only 39% of the respondents are aware of public toilets in the town and they are considered dirty. Zziwa said residents who have failed to develop their plots, have been given up to December to develop them or be compelled to sell them off. “We have been urging them to develop
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