By Deborah Namukose
JINJA: Bugembe may be one of Busoga’s most promising towns but residents in this fast-growing town are overwhelmed by its gabbage state.
Comprising of five wards, including Budhumbuli, Wanyama,Katende, Nakanyonyi and Katwe, the town that lies along the Kampala-Iganga highway has piles of rubbish strewn along the streets and picked on by birds.
Jinja city Northern Division officials say residents need to pay for waste management.- many won’t or cant.
“When we were under town council, our rubbish was being collected weekly at a low cost and at times freely but now the city charges are exorbitant and some people have even decided to throw gabbagge at night under parking vehicles, drainage channels and dark corridors,” says a resident who preferred anonymity.
The LC1 chairperson for Budhumbuli East, Mr George Matende blamed the problem on failure by residents to fulfill their financial obligations.
The Gabbagge trucks are always available but some people don’t make good use of them because they require paying some little money (2000/=) monthly,” Matende said.
He said some residents go ahead and open sewerage systems when it is raining, something, he said, could exacerbate the outbreak of diseases like cholera and diarrhoea.
Residents are calling upon the city authority to find a solution to the problem to curb the likely outbreak of waterborne diseases.
“The situation is so worrying because we live in crowed places which may lead to easy spread of diseases,” says a resident.
Ever since Jinja became a city, the community members started feeling the consequences like high taxes.
When this reporter talked to the health inspector of Bugembe, Mr Simon Baganigira, he said the town authorities used to collect gabbagge freely but when the city set in, the gabbage section was privatised with private companies doing the collection in return for some little money.
“We sensitise residents about good hygiene and sanitation every Wednesday using VHTs and other volunteers. We also clean the markets, roads and drainage systems,” Baganigira said.
He also said they have placed posters everywhere warning people not to dump gabbagge but some residents have remained adamant.
“We are now going to put spying network in every corner and whoever will be caught will serve as an example to the rest,” Baganigira said.
