Marabou storks and scrap dealers rummage through garbage at Nkumba dumping site in Katabi Town Council, Wakiso District, on . PHOTO/PAUL ADUDE
Environmentalists and Katabi Town Council leaders have warned of a likely health disaster if locals continue disposing of garbage at the already overwhelmed Nkumba dumpsite.
Currently, even though the number of trucks dumping at the site has decreased, with only trucks operating in Katabi Town Council and Entebbe Municipality, which are both in Wakiso District, allowed to dump at the site, there are growing concerns that the leachate flowing from the rubbish into the neighbouring wetland will cause health hazards in the area.
When Monitor visited the dumping site on Tuesday, the area was characterised by several birds, mainly Marabou Storks. Scrap collectors were rummaging through the garbage as a garbage truck made its way to the site. The leachate flow was visible, with a distinct stench hovering over the area.
Ms Diana Kibuuka, a resident and conservationist, told Monitor that residents were concerned about the health and safety of the ecosystem in the wetland that connects to Lake Victoria.
“That leachate carries a lot of unseen metals and objects, which doctors warn can cause cancer and other diseases,” she said.
Ms Kibuuka added: “As residents, we are at risk because people use that water for domestic use. Secondly, there is a spring water well about 100 metres from the dumpsite. All the water people are collecting from there can’t be safe yet they use it for domestic chores.”
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While speaking to Monitor, Katabi Town Council chairperson Ronald Kalema said as local leaders, they stopped dumping of garbage in the area but were, however, let down by authorities from Entebbe Municipality, who own the dump site.
“As local authorities, when we stop [the dumping], we expect the owners to follow what we have agreed. When I got a report that they (trucks) were coming in the night, yesterday (Tuesday), we had a security committee and I reported that case to them. One thing I'm seeing; for us as, leaders, we execute our mandate but the law enforcers are very reluctant to consider what we have agreed on,” he said.
However, even if National Water and Sewarage Corporation was to treat the water, the bill would be astronomical given the increasing pollution of the lake.
Following the tragic collapse of the Kiteezi landfill in August that claimed more than 30 lives and property worth millions, Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) passed a resolution to temporarily dump the 1,500 tonnes of garbage generated from within the city and metropolitan areas daily at the 14-acre Nkumba- Bufulu landfill in Katabi Town Council, Wakiso District.
The decision by KCCA was met with resistance from residents, local leaders, and conservationists, who raised concerns over the safety of the wetland and its ecosystem near the dumpsite, and the potential health and environmental hazards that may arise as a result.
Following numerous complaints and continued confrontations between locals, truck drivers, and authorities, the government, on August 21, ordered the stopping of garbage trucks from Kampala City to the Nkumba dumpsite.
Alternatively, the meeting chaired by the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of East African Community Affairs, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, at the Office of the Prime Minister, selected 12 acres of land at Menvu in Nansana Municipality as the new dumping area for garbage by KCCA.
However, trucks from Nabugabo Updeal Joint Venture and HomeKlin (U) Ltd, both garbage collectors from Kampala City, continued to dump rubbish in the area until Entebbe Municipality leaders ordered them to stop in a November 13 letter authored by the town clerk, Mr Emmanuel Mugisha.
A concrete wall fence separates the dumping site from a private property close to the wetland. PHOTO/PAUL ADUDE
Ms Kibuuka said the National Environment Management Authority (Nema), on November 25, directed the local authorities to clean and restore the wetland within three months. She hopes the directives are implemented.
Mr Kalema called for a corrective report on the dumpsite as Katabi leaders continue to engage potential investors to bring a wholesome solution to the environmental and health concerns posed by the dumping.
“Yesterday, (Tuesday) I had some investors who came here. They even went to the site and did a survey, they agreed to bring in their machines, but, of course, I told them what to follow; they have to write to me, which letter I'm expecting today (yesterday) after which I will sit with my executive and the council, we write to Entebbe to approve, we also give Nema to approve, then we give him (investor), because we want to do it as quickly as possible,” he said yesterday.
Mr Kalema said the investor promised to sort the garbage and recycle it into different things.
When contacted, Entebbe Municipality Mayor Fabrice Rulinda said they are working with the police to ensure only garbage trucks from Entebbe and Katabi are allowed to dump at the site, as they embark on rolling out the Nema directives to clean the wetland.
“The people who are dumping there are from Entebbe and Katabi Town Council, not from Kampala, which, of course, we can't stop because there's nowhere else to take the garbage from Entebbe and Katabi Town Council. So the people who are supposed to dump, are the ones dumping there” he said.
Mr Rulinda added: “We were already given an order by Nema, which we are working on, they gave us three months to fix that place. We are in preparations, we are trying to finalise to have a plant there that incinerates and transforms that waste into something useful.”
He also said the municipal authorities hope to have everything back to normal within the three months Nema allocated for restoration.
Garbage trucks que after they had been stopped from proceeding to the Nkumba landfill in Entebbe on August 15, 2024. Photo | Paul Adude
Nema’s senior public relations officer, Mr William Lubuulwa, said the watchdog ordered Entebbe Municipality to improve Nkumba Landfill within three months effective November 11 or face closure.
“The most important thing was a cessation of any activity in the wetland section, then restoration of degraded areas, which they have to follow up with an environmental compliance audit, construction of a perimetre wall and gate around the facility, and implement stormwater and wastewater management measures, among other directives to ensure the wetland’s restoration,” he said.
Mr Lubuulwa said the dumpsite’s management fell short of several compliance requirements, which posed environmental and health risks to the surrounding environment and neighbouring communities hence a cessation order to allow for the wetland's restoration.
NWSC speaks out
The manager of marketing and digital communication at the National Water and Sewerage Corporation, Mr John Fisher Ssekabira, yesterday said the agency is keen on providing clean and safe water nation-wide. ‘‘...water quality is at the heart of our operations.When we abstract this water, we treat it according to the standards of the World Health Organisation and other stakeholders,” he said.
But he decried the increasing pollution of Lake Victoria, which he said increases the cost of water treatment and urged all stakeholders to guard the lake and other water bodies jealously
