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Kampala wins the Guanzhou innovation award
Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Executive Director, Ms Dorothy Kisaka, receives the Guangzhou Innovation Award 2023 in China on December 7, 2023. PHOTO | | COURTESY | KCCA
What you need to know:
The 'Weyonje App' is a communication technology tool designed to ease access to solid waste emptying services in the city.
Kampala City together with four other cities have won the Guangzhou Innovation Award 2023 in recognition for their innovations in improving social, economic and environmental sustainability as well as good governance in the cities.
The other cities which shared the winner's spot with Kampala are; Xianning, China; Gwangui, Korea; Chalandri, Greece and Bogota in Colombia.
Kampala’s win is attributed to a ground breaking sanitation and public health innovation called the Weyonje App developed by Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA). The App has received international recognition for advancing technology in service delivery.
The 'Weyonje App' is a communication technology tool designed to ease access to solid waste emptying services in the city.
The App enables licensed waste emptying service providers to efficiently monitor job orders, customer information, financial earnings, as well as maintaining a detailed profile for their records.
Mr Simon Kasyate, the KCCA spokesperson said the Weyonje innovation is part of the Smart City agenda, which is anchored on three major goals, which are; technology use, infrastructure improvements, and people wellbeing.
"The App facilitates quick identification and mapping of vulnerable households in the capital city slums for quick relief and subsidies," he said.
While receiving the award in China on Thursday, KCCA executive director, Ms Dorothy Kisaka, applauded her able team that came up with the technological innovations which has seen the Ugandan capital city winning a prestigious international award.
"Who am I to receive this on behalf of my government of Uganda and the great people of Kampala City. We are grateful that our team has come with a great innovation for urban works that has eased a very pressing problem of solid waste management in the city. The innovation of the Weyonje App modernises our efforts to care for Kampala people," she said.
She added that this technological innovation has enabled the authority to extend the services to the people of Kampala including the most ordinary ones.
Guangzhou Innovation Award is jointly sponsored by the city of Guangzhou in China, World Association of the Major Metropolises together with the United Cities and Local Governments.
To win this year's sixth cycle of the awards, Kampala was shortlisted together with other 14 cities from across the world including Cape Town, Jakarta, Kazan and Bogota.
The Guangzhou Innovation award comes one month after the Global Award for Sustainable Development that Kampala won in recognition for its outstanding progress and achievements in the implementation of the 2023 agenda.
