Africa-Press – Uganda. Leaders in Namutumba Town Council are in advanced plans to pass an ordinance on garbage dumping and collection, which will see whoever is found littering the Town, including owners of marauding animals fined.
Mr Godfrey Mwembe, the Town Council chairman, said the new law will see residents pay Shs2,000 for garbage collection, while marauding animals will be impounded and the owner subjected to a Shs2m fine, face a two-year imprisonment sentence or both.
“In 2017, the Town Council passed a by-law, allowing every vendor to pay Shs2,000 for garbage collected at heir workplaces, but it was not implemented because the President banned it.
“Because the first by-law did not work, we then allowed them [vendors] to freely dispose of their garbage over the last five years, but this time we are committed because we have everything in place,” Mr Mwembe said in an interview.
The Town Council health inspector, Mr Yakub Magoola, said the new ordinance comes at a time when authorities are grappling with garbage collection and disposal, which has persisted due to limited funds.
“The Shs5m allocated for garbage collection and disposal every financial year, including salaries for workers, is too little compared to the volume of garbage in the Town,” Mr Magoola said, hailing the ordinance, which will take effect in July.
Mr Paul Waako, a vendor, said the heap of garbage at Namutumba central market has forced most of his colleagues to do business on the streets.
Mr Jaberi Makumbi, another vendor, said he pays taxes but is not getting the desired services and urged authorities to revise the law before passing it because it might be flawed.
For More News And Analysis About Uganda Follow Africa-Press
