KAMPALA CITY FRONTLINE WORKERS, UNSUNG HEROES HONORED

Wednesday October 12, 2022 will forever remain a memorable day for Betty Kikozi 40, a mother of three who works as a street sweeper in Kampala City.

It is on this day that Kikozi, together with her colleagues were honored and celebrated by the Kampala City, Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) for the great work they do every day to ensure the city is clean and orderly.

Every morning, these heroes 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 repeat the same work in the evening.

They were honored during the Frontline Appreciation Day event held at Kololo Independence grounds. Salim Uhuru, the Mayor for Central Division represented the Minister for Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs, Minsa Kabanda.

For the first time in the history of Kampala City, KCCA honored its large army of frontline workers who includes; gardeners, street sweepers, drainage cleaners and the garbage collectors. Others are the Traffic Wardens and law enforcement officers.

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.

The event is one of the many initiatives by the KCCA Executive Director Dorothy Kisaka to shade direct spotlight on the importance and services provided by the city’s unsung heroes.

Kisaka hailed city cleaners especially women for their commitment to a smart city by availing themselves for duty on a daily basis.

On Wednesday, after doing their morning shift, they freshened up by 9:00 O’clock they headed to Kololo Independence grounds led by a police band.

They excitedly marched through the streets of the city, for everyone to see why they deserve to be appreciated, Dressed in their overalls, boots and aprons they also danced to Akadodi dance, while ululating.

The KCCA smart city campaign has three pillars, Technology, Infrastructure and People Wellbeing. It is in this regard that KCCA is recognizing the people who are hands on every day even though they work behind the scenes.

“I’ve never felt important like today. Kololo which is always for the ‘educated people’ is all ours today,” Kikozi said. “I’m so excited to be celebrated and I’m encouraged to work better,” she added.

The special day was marked with feasting and dancing in a typical KCCA festive mood. Several gifts including hampers were given to the heroes of the day.

Kisaka revealed that all frontline workers will receive new protective gear, gumboots, gloves and overall to aid their work. She also promised better renumeration as the economic situation stabilizes.

Appreciating the frontline workers is a score for Kisaka as she continues to build bridges and bring City Hall closer to the people. The city's various stakeholders must be addressed to achieve the Smart City Campaign. Kisaka feels cleanliness of the city is a key deliverable in the Smart City Campaign and making the cleaning teams aware of this goal while celebrating their contribution is a necessary activity