Fort Portal toilets break down

KABAROLE. Mr Bosco Kamukama, 25, who vends chapatti around Fort Portal Town always finds it difficult to access public toilets while doing his daily work. Instead, he uses the streets and hidden places to ease himself.

“Other than moving a distance looking for public toilets, I look for available open space or seek permission from tenants to use their toilets because most public toilets here are either not functioning or closed,” Mr Kamukama says.

He says there is need for the urban authority to set up or rehabilitate public toilets in Fort Portal Town to help people and travellers easily access places of convenience to maintain sanitation.
Ms Annette Kobugabe, 29, a food vendor on Bwamba Road, says it is always challenging as her customers ask where they can ease themselves but always has no answer.

“I receive many people a day from different places and my prayer is never to be asked where they can ease themselves from,’ Ms Kobugabe says.
Mr Joseph Agaba, a boda boda rider at Kamwenge stage, says due to limited public toilets, people have resorted to using the few available bushes.

Intensity
The chairperson of Kabudire Market, Mr Mubaraka Kasoke, says the market has 2,300 registered traders but has one public toilet that has five stances which he says do not serve the entire market regularly.

“Our former mayor Mr Asaba Ruyonga and his council had a plan of constructing another public toilet to reduce the congestion. I don’t know what the current council is thinking about the issue because up to now, we are still waiting to see if we can have another public toilet constructed,” Mr Kasoke said.
He said because of the big population, some people fail to use the toilet and resort to streets, dark corners and bushes around the market to ease themselves. He adds that they have tried to stop the vice but in vain.

“As the management of the market, if we get you using the bushes or any unauthorised place, you will pay a fine of Shs50,000 or buy two plastic chairs,” Mr Kasoke said.
Mr Andrew Katabarwa, a worker at one of the public toilets at Kabudaire market says due to the big population in the market, the toilet fills in two months and town council sometimes takes time to empty it.

The chairperson of West Division, Mr Richard Musiguzi, says the whole division has only two public toilets.
At Njaara market, matooke vendors use toilets at the East Division offices and Kabarole District local government headquarters.

“It is true the public toilets that are in town are few compared to the number of people that live or work within the town. There is need for construction of more public toilets,” the mayor said.
He added: “We are working with some private people to let us use their toilets. We sign memorandum of understanding. We have the challenge of land where we can put such facilities.”

In 2014, the National Population Housing Census put the population of Fort Portal Town at 54,275. According to Fort Portal mayor Willy Kintu Muhanga, the town currently has about 70,000 people. The town has two main markets; Kabudaire and Mpanga, and people overwhelm the few public toilets in those places.
There are two other toilets that were built at Boma Grounds, whose water system is non-functional and at Buhinga playground which is always closed and only open when there is a public function.

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