By Sadique Bamwita
ENTEBBE
The Entebbe Municipality Mayor Fabrice Rulinda ordered the administration of Katabi Town Council to close Nkumba dumpsite with immediate effect.
The order for closure dated 8th October, 2024 followed defiance from management of Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) despite a meeting that sat on August 21, 2024 at the Prime Minister’s office which prohibited dumping garbage from Kampala to Nkumba Dumpsite.
Despite the resolution to prohibit further dumping of garbage at the disputed Nkumba dumpsite, sources say Katabi Town Council mayor Ronald Kalema clandestinely continued working with management of Kampala Capital City Authority to allow them to dump garbage at Nkumba dumpsite.
It is alleged that each truck that has been dumping garbage at Nkumba dumpsite would pay Shs 20.000 and in a day a minimum of twenty trucks from Homeklin and Nabugabo would dump garbage at Nkumba dumpsite.
It’s reported that the continued dumping of stinking garbage at Nkumba dumpsite had proved hazardous to the health of locals living nearby and the vicinity of the dumpsite prompting them to raise a concern to the office of Entebbe Mayor who swiftly swung into action and ordered Katabi Mayor to close the dumpsite without giving any excuse, an order Kalema painfully implemented.
Mayor Fabrice noted that Entebbe municipality has no alternative solid waste management dumpsite, and that council has managed its garbage at Nkumba dumpsite without compromising lives of nearby residents and the general environment. However the continued dumping of garbage at the dumpsite by Kampala Capital city Authority has enormously polluted the environment in the entire Katabi Town Council.
Mr. Rulinda added that ever since he learnt that unscrupulous people were taking advantage to solicit money from Kampala Capital City authority to allow their trucks dump garbage at Nkumba dumpsite, he ordered the Entebbe Town Clerk to instruct Entebbe police to investigate, arrest and prosecute those involved in the dirty deal.
Mayor Fabrice further revealed that as one of the measures to stop KCAA garbage trucks, council has developed an IT mechanism that allows only Entebbe Municipal council garbage trucks to access and dump garbage at Nkumba dumpsite.
“ Given those facts , I ordered Entebbe Town clerk and his counterpart of Katabi Town council to work on an effective and efficient solution that restores full functionality of the Nkumba dumpsite which poses no harm to the general environment, “said mayor Rulinda . ‘
In response to the order given to him, Katabi Town Council Mayor Ronald Kalema today October 9, 2024, implemented his boss’ directive and ordered for the closure of Nkumba dumpsite until further notice.
Nonetheless, Mr. Kalema denied charging cash from KCAA garbage trucks saying it was Entebbe Principle Health Inspector who has been charging each garbage truck Shs. 20,000; a lucrative business he claims has earned him huge sums of money for the last one month and half.
Sources say the decision to temporarily close Nkumba dumpsite was highly welcomed by Mayor Kalema since he was no longer profiting from the Nkumba dumpsite after Entebbe Municipal council cancelled a memorandum of understanding that he had earlier signed with Kampala Lord mayor Elias Lukwago to allow KCCA trucks to dump garbage at Nkumba dumpsite following a landfill tragedy in Kiteezi zone .
