Kampala Lord Mayor Eng. Ronald Balimwezo has cautioned that Uganda’s national cleaning day could end up creating more waste management problems than it solves, arguing that authorities moved ahead without a clear plan for handling the trash the exercise is expected to generate.
The nationwide cleaning exercise took place Saturday, July 25, 2026, part of a government directive intended to promote a cleaner environment, improve public health and cut down on diseases linked to poor sanitation.
The Uganda Police Force said the exercise ran from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., with restrictions placed on the movement of vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles and vessels during that window, except for services that were specifically exempted.
Balimwezo, however, said the government should have worked out a detailed implementation plan before pushing the exercise into motion nationwide. He argued that sweeping streets and clearing compounds is only the first step, and that without adequate trucks, disposal sites and coordination on the ground, the cleanup risks simply relocating garbage rather than getting rid of it.
His comments echo concerns he raised earlier, when he warned that Kampala’s limited number of garbage trucks and disposal facilities could make it difficult to manage the volume of waste collected during such a large-scale exercise. That warning came even as national officials pledged additional equipment, including trucks and protective gear, to support local governments during the cleaning drive.
For a city already grappling with waste collection capacity issues on an ordinary day, the mayor’s remarks point to a broader worry: that a well-intentioned national campaign could stall or backfire if the systems needed to dispose of collected waste are not firmly in place beforehand.
It remains to be seen whether government will address Balimwezo’s concerns in future rounds of the cleaning exercise, or whether the disposal bottlenecks he flagged will resurface as the initiative continues.
