KCCA has come out to reply to the requests from different individuals and entities of relocating the garbage landfill, saying that they have no funds to do so.
According to the deputy executive director of Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), Eng David Luyimbazi, the authority lacks the necessary funds to decommission the Kiteezi garbage landfill, which tragically collapsed last week, resulting in the loss of over 21 lives.
Luyimbazi explained that since 2016, KCCA has intended to close Kiteezi landfill after it reached maximum capacity. However, the plan to relocate the site to Dundu in Mukono has stalled due to insufficient funding.
A 2023 site visit report by KCCA’s Public Health Directorate recommended that the government urgently address the capacity issues at the Kiteezi landfill. The report suggested either relocating the landfill to a new site or expanding the existing site using an adjacent 4-acre plot acquired for this purpose.
“We want to leave this place to Dundu, but we need more than Shs 6 billion to decommission this place and open a new dumping site in Mukono, but we have no money. At the moment, we’re looking for more support from foreign friends,” Luyimbazi said.
He attributed the recent collapse of the garbage heap to irresponsible settlement and the construction of houses nearby, which increased pressure on the landfill and led to its structural failure.
“Every time it rains, the place becomes weaker due to house construction around it. But we have seen the danger already and we are going to start evicting all the people still around this place, because the other side, which has not collapsed, is also in a bad state,” Luyimbazi noted.
Tom Muwonge, mayor of Kasangati, expressed frustration with the situation, noting that local authorities have repeatedly urged the government to shut down the Kiteezi landfill. He highlighted the alarming rise in disease-related deaths among nearby residents and criticized the KCCA for failing to take decisive action despite numerous warnings.
