Kazo leaders launch community sanitation drive

SANITATION

Nothing has come to describe Kazo, a parish in Nansana division, Wakiso district, like the speed of its transformation.

From a laid back suburb on the fringes of Kampala just ten years ago, the area is teeming with commercial and residential properties, occupying nearly every inch.

Now split into six cells, Kazo is one of the most densely populated suburbs in Nansana, with a population of more than 5,000 residents.

Like other fast-growing suburbs, the rising population has brought with it new pressures, one of them being that of hygiene and sanitation.

"We face big challenges during the wet season since some of our roads become impassable and the garbage collection trucks cannot reach some homesteads," Hussein Mubiru, the LC1 chairperson for Lugoba I Zone tells New Vision in an interview.

The situation is not any different in neighbouring Muganzirwaza II Zone, according to Ismail Kigozi, the area LC1 chairperson.

"The garbage collection truck comes around once a week, forcing residents to dispose of garbage in unhealthy ways. We have now been told there is a risk of a cholera outbreak," he explains.

Mounds of uncollected garbage have become breeding grounds for rats, flies and other pests that are now a big menace to the neighbourhood, residents say.

Some of the water wells where residents fetch water for domestic use have been contaminated while dirty surroundings have become breeding grounds for mosquitoes that spread malaria.

At the end of last week, leaders from the six zones of Kazo launched a community cleaning campaign dubbed Bulungi Bwansi to step up waste garbage collection and disposal practices.

Under the campaign, door -to-door garbage collection services which existed in the area in the past will be re-introduced to ensure that all waste is collected and disposed of correctly.

As a boost to the campaign, each local council cell within Kazo parish received a set of wheelbarrows, hoes, rakes, shovels and heavy duty gloves.

The items were donated by Kazo International Community Volunteering Programme (KICVOP-Ugandas), a local charity organization and the brainchild of Mac Kiyimba, an area councilor.

As part of the campaign, each local council cell will designate a collection centre and a few days in the month for a general cleaning activity.

Hamidu Nsubuga Kizito, the Mayor for Nansana division, lauded the campaign and pledged that the division would ensure a truck is available to collect the refuse.

He, however, advised the zonal leaders to come up with a schedule of designated days for garbage collection for each of the zones.

Kizito also appealed to residents to act responsibly in disposing of garbage in their localities to make it easy for collectors to pick it.

"Garbage originates from homes. Some people are simply reluctant to participate in cleaning exercises while others even ask for money. Good habits start with the individual," he stated.



Robert Mukasa, Muganzirwaza I Zone LC1 chairperson said the initiative is good because "it will make it easier for us to collect, sort and even recycle garbage".

Robert Kizito Magulu, Lugoba II LC1 chairperson: "Residents are always willing to clean their neighbourhood but they lack tools. We will make sure that residents can ferry refuse from their homes to disposal sites."

This initiative is the first of its kind in the division, said Stephen Kago, councilor for Nansana Division. "It will help us to reach every home to collect waste and teach people about benefits of good sanitation."


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