The Uganda People’s Congress Party (UPC) has urged the government to come up with a well-trained and equipped Rapid Response Unit with a good background to handle disasters of huge magnitude.

During the party’s weekly press release that took place on August 14, 2024, at the party headquarters in Uganda House, the party spokesperson, Sharon Arach Oyat, stated that the delays in rescuing the missing bodies speak volumes about a lack of capacity by the government.

“UPC has noted on the news going on in the Kiteezi area that the number of manpower is not equivalent to the number of missing persons, yet the human resources department of the Ministry of Disaster Preparedness should have these numbers. We also noted that the speed at which they work is not for saving lives but rather to recover the bodies of those who have lost their lives,” she noted.

Arach warned the government, especially the Ministry of Water and Environment, and key stakeholders like the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), that dumping waste for the sake of garbage recycling is an environmental and health disaster that puts people’s lives on the line.

“The area was gazetted for garbage dumping, but the government did not pay attention to the livelihoods around the area, which led to the incident. The government exposed these people to poor hygiene, leading to disease spread,” she added.

Arach added that the challenge of garbage collection should go hand in hand with population growth and development in cities, towns, trading centers, and slums, hence the need to be conscious of the challenges of waste management and disposal.

“Science and technology should be applied appropriately when dealing with garbage collection and emphasize recycling to produce products like fertilizers, pavers, and bio gas, which already have a market in the country and region. However, this requires serious research and bench-marking as well as heavy investment by both the government and private sector,” she added.

The collapse of a section of the Kiteezi landfill has ignited debate on whether the incident was mere negligence at work by the responsible authorities and could have been avoided or whether it should be considered a tragic accident.