EXCLUSIVE: KCCA's Director of Public Health in hot soup for downplaying Kiteezi landfill decommissioning

By Our Reporter

Kampala – On 4th, June this year, this publication exclusively reported why Dr. Daniel Okello’s KCCA Public Health and Environment Directorate (PH&ED) head job was hanging in the balance.

Our source back then alleged that from a brief report, Dr. Okello, has been faulted in a lot of issues that concerns his docket (Public Health and Environment) which were not worth his re-appointment.

Among the issues our snoopers then gathered were the mishandling of Kiteezi landfill which was a ticking time bomb. Here is the link about that story.https://redpepper.co.ug/ex-president-obotes-son-job-at-kcca-hangs-in-balance/135681/

In our report, we revealed how Dr. Okello led docket had failed to put in place a weighbridge. Garbage compacting was also poorly done. There were also issues to do with fewer personnel as in terms of service providers, non operational laboratory and as well lack of a sewage treatment at Kiteezi landfill. Our source then quoted that he was receiving a sh3bn budget for maintenance every financial year.

But now we have been told that the actual budget for Kiteezi is sh4b every five year.

As this publication rightly reported that the Kiteezi landfill was at risk of getting slides and residents were threatening to sue the authority.

In not more than two months since we published that story, Kiteezi garbage landfill busted, hence killing an uncounted number of people and destroying property of the people who have been living around it. Several are now homeless and others dead.

This has since painted Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and its administration and the Government of Uganda (GoU) of being incompetent and detached from her citizens.

KITEEZI REPORT SHIELDED FOR 9 MONTHS

With this development, this publication has been able to obtain a full report that had recommended on how Kiteezi landfill was supposed to be re-organized for better decomposition of garbage.

This report was written by the Public Health Standing Committee Supervision and Monitoring in November, 2023.

Surprisingly, nine months later, Dr. Okello, is when he informed the Authority officially in a memo dated July 2, 2024 and was received by the office of Executive Director on July 4, 2024.

Interestingly, two days later after the tragic incident, (that happened on Saturday August 10, 2024) a stamped received memo surfaced both on social media and mainstream media.

The following day, the same memo also re-surfaced via social media with some recommendations from the of Executive Director as being received to the Directorate of Public Health and Environment (DPH&E) dated July 17, 2024.

This has since been consumed by the public on assumption that the whole Authority is incompetent and unserious on people’s wellbeing when in the actual sense some people in the Health directorate slept on the job.

KITEEZI REPORT SITE ASSESSMENT

This report was written by the Public Health Standing Committee Supervision and Monitoring in November, 2023. But it was hidden for nine months from the KCCA helm.

From this report, members assessed the general site conditions and observed that “the site was improper, hazardous to the community and needs an urgent solution of managing solid waste” and hence coming up with long term measures such as recycling garbage programs at the facility.

Members also observed that during the rainy season, vehicle access to the site was a challenge.

The landfill site also had no designated areas for recycling and composting.

“The lack of a weighing scale machine raises concerns regarding accurate waste tracking and management.”

Concerning environmental Impact, the report noted that there was poor air quality, adding that odor management systems were never in place and there wasn’t any room for improvement to further minimize the release of unpleasant odors, especially considering the site’s proximity to residential areas.

Also, on water management, they reported concerns of inadequate drainage systems preventing the accumulation of stagnant water that could serve as breeding grounds for disease-carrying vectors.

The landfill also lacked measures to prevent leachate contamination and groundwater pollution, including proper lining and collection of leachate for treatment.

On Public Health and Safety, the report reported occupational Health and Safety of workers or waste pickers safety equipment, including lack of gloves, masks and right clothing to protect them from potential hazards. Also regular training programs on occupational health and safety were not conducted for workers to ensure adherence to safety protocols.

On Vector Control, it noted that effective vector control measures such as regular fumigation and elimination of breeding sites are never implemented to prevent the spread of diseases carried by vectors.

On the issue of budget utilization, it was observed that the murram (soil) budgeted for sh1,560,000,000 billion quarterly was not being utilized properly. Ideally, the murram should be used for dumping at the solid waste section of the landfill site. However, it was found that the quality of murram being used was poor. Additionally, the Bulldozer D6, which was responsible for spreading and compacting the murram was faulty and missed for several days yet each day of its absence is budgeted for at sh2, 640,000, resulting in a significant loss of funds for the institution.

Furthermore, during the supervision and monitoring visit, the members did not observe the presence of a water dowser machine, which is intended to reduce dust and enhance the compaction of murram.

Yet the same was also budgeted for at a daily rate of 1,220,000. The absence of this equipment raised concerns about the effectiveness of dust control measures and the overall quality of murram compaction at the landfill site.

It was also recorded that, on arrival at the landfill entrance, each driver is tasked to register his truck number with similar 4.2 tones irrespective of the size and type of the truck. This justifies the estimated tones received daily at Kiteezi landfill.

And on inquiry they were told by the supervisor that trucks carrying solid waste garbage first move to a private weighing machine and thereafter come to the landfill which indicates lack of value for money budgeted for the tons dumped per day at the facility.

Members also observed that the Kiteezi KCCA offices were built on the land which is not for the institution and the access road towards it has complaints of ownership challenges by a lady who is a family member of the original owners who sold Kiteezi landfill to KCCA.

On safety concerns, it was further observed that the operation of the Excavator at the landfill site poses a significant risk to the safety of solid waste pickers. These individuals, who are not official workers of the KCCA institution but issued identity cards by the supervisor, engage in unauthorized waste picking activities during the operation of the Excavator.

The presence of unauthorized individuals near the operating Excavator creates a hazardous environment as they are not equipped with proper safety gear or trained to handle potential accidents or incidents that may occur during waste collection, the report observed. “This situation not only compromises the safety of these individuals but also poses a risk to the overall operations and reputation of the KCCA institution.”

The report adds: “Most of the solid waste coming at the landfill from the concessionaires who are also agents of the institution and the private companies is not sorted, making it 58% and 42% from KCCA. At the dumping site the concessionaires and private companies are not directly charged money yet they also charge their clients some money ranging from 5,000 to 100,000 shillings.”

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE REPORT

Members recommended a visit to the contractors to ascertain the tones of marram and other services offered to the facility. It was also recommended to stop the collection of marram from the four acres procured by KCCA since it is budgeted for to be obtained from the contractors.

Members also recommended the need for a solid waste recycling plant at Kiteezi.

Those concerned were also tasked to implement strict access control measures to prevent unauthorized individuals from engaging in hazardous waste picking activities during the operation of heavy machinery.

“There is a need to conduct public awareness campaigns to educate the community about the risks associated with unauthorized waste picking activities and the importance of adhering to safety protocols.”

They also recommended the need to procure and install a weighing scale machine to accurately measure the weight of incoming waste and improve waste tracking and management.

“Enhance odor management systems to further minimize the release of unpleasant odors, especially in areas close to residential neighbourhoods. But also implement proper management of Kiteezi landfill. Conduct regular inspections and maintenance of waste collection and disposal equipment to ensure proper functioning.

“There is a need for KCCA to allow partners and award them contracts for the recycling processes. Address the issues with marram utilization, including ensuring the procurement of quality marram and repairing the faulty Bulldozer D6 to avoid unnecessary expenditure. To acquire a water bowser machine to improve dust control and enhance the compaction of marram.

Conclusively, all this was kept under the office carpet of KCCA’s Director for Public Health and Environment for over nine months until the trash busted.

Just asking, who exactly slept on the job at KCCA?

DEAR READER,

CALL/TEXT/WHATSAPP:0777959024 OR EMAIL: redpeppertips@gmail.com WITH AS MUCH EVIDENCE AS POSSIBLE IF YOU HAVE A HOT STORY YOU WOULD LIKE US TO PUBLISH…SOURCE PROTECTION/CONFIDENTIALITY IS OUR NO.1 PRIORITY.