KCCA FRONTLINE WORKERS TO BE CELEBRATED

On a typical day in Kampala, there is a group of people who wake up long before dawn and walk quietly to different stations in the city to work. They sweep the roads, clean drainages, cut the grass, pick up the waste and generally keep the city smart.

They are adorned in overalls, boots and aprons or simply just appear with their Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) and start work. They are men and women of all ages.

They will appear again at night after the hustle and bustle of the city has died down to clean up the day's mess created by city dwellers.

There is little known about this group except on the occasions when they do not do a good job. But to KCCA these are great heroes who deserve to be celebrated.

As Uganda marks 60 years of independence KCCA will be celebrating these great men and women.

This KCCA large army of frontline workers includes; gardeners, street sweepers, drainage cleaners and the garbage collectors.

Others are the Traffic Wardens and law enforcement officers.

The law enforcement officer's role is not always celebrated and truth be told they often act ruthless. And yet trade order, must be maintained in the capital city.

The Directorate of Human Resource headed by Grace Akullo is at the forefront of taking care of this army of thousands from the five divisions of Kampala.

The waste management component is under the Directorate of Public Health headed by Dr Daniel Okello.

The over 1500 tonnes of rubbish produced daily in the city must be collected every day by the KCCA trucks and delivered to Kiteezi.

KCCA has also enlisted the support of private business people to support the waste management collection.  These are Nabugabo Updeal, Homeklin and Kampala Solid Waste Consortium (KSWC).

At the helm in the Divisions are the Town Clerks, chief administrators of the divisions. These are Denis Omondi in Nakawa, Janet Luzinda in Makindye, Moses Sempa in Kawempe, Thomas Ssentongo in Lubaga and Agnes Nakimuli in Central.

Their task is enormous because they must keep a record of what each of the frontline forces can be duly paid through their bank accounts while following the rigorous accountability protocols of the KCCA treasury

Seven Hills and the ghetto youth

During the Covid19 pandemic in 2020, there was an addition to the city cleaners baptised Seven Hills. The story of Seven Hills is the story of the turning point for over 500 youthful ghetto boys who have been ushered into the money economy by participating in cleaning the city.

Some of them are self-confessed former wrong doers. But when KCCA gave them an opportunity during the COVID19 lockdown to clean the blocked drainages, they embraced it. What started as a casual engagement has now become an opportunity for employment.

Their story is best told through the transformed lives of their leaders Menton Bachenga, Bashir and Jamil Kabugo. They refer to themselves as commanders and they actively reach out to fellow unemployed youth and getting them to work.

Kololo for frontline workers

On October 12, all roads in Kampala City will lead to Kololo Ceremonial grounds where KCCA will be celebrating its employees who work hard to keep the city clean and safe.

It will be a day of feasting and dancing in a typical KCCA festive mood.

The event will be graced by all Kampala's top leaders from both the political and technical side. The Ministers, the Mayors and RCCs will all be there.

"It is an opportunity for us to recognise the frontline workers for the good job they do to keep the city clean" says Isaac Mugulumbe from the organising committee​​.