Locals in areas of Kampala metropolitan have accused KCCA casual laborers of blocking the few existing drainage systems with soil and dirt.
The complaint comes as locals have expressed fear of contracting hygiene and water-related diseases as a result of blocked channels.
They say this practice is common along Mambule road in Bwaise, Kawempe Division, Kasule road in Wandegeya, Bwaise-Nabweru road, and Kawempe Ttula road among others.
Waswa Bukenya, who led a group of disgruntled locals living in Nabweru says those living close to trenches are the most affected.
He says that KCCA needs to equip its workers well and sensitize them on the danger of dumping in drainage channels.
He says when channels are silted; it exposes the people neighboring the drains to flooding during the heavy downpour.
However, a female laborer who spoke on condition of anonymity says the garbage collection points are placed far.
She says since a lot of silt and dust is on the roads, most casual laborers end up directly dumping the dust into channels and only remove the garbage.
“There is a lot of dust and silt on the road. You cannot lift it to the collection points, which are close to half a kilometer away. What we do is to remove the garbage. For the dust, you either sweep it directly into the channel or collect it at several points and pour it into the drain somewhere close,” she said.
”We don’t have enough wheelbarrows to transport the garbage to a collection center. And you know when you’re sleeping, you want to hurry so that the sun doesn’t find you still on the road,” another laborer Namatovu.
Jude Byansi, the Manager of sanitation at KCCA, says that their supervisors have made similar observations and received reports pertaining to casual workers dumping waste in drainage channels.
Byansi acknowledges the fact that the Authority lacks sufficient equipment to use in cleaning and collecting garbage in the City.
He says ideally each group of five people should have a wheelbarrow but they are currently experiencing a gap where more than five groups comprising 25 people share a wheelbarrow. “
There are only 21 operational garbage trucks, which collect garbage from different parts of the city. There are also private companies offering the services at a fee.
