KAPEEKA, UGANDA — Gen. Salim Saleh and National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) Managing Director Dr. Eng. Silver Mugisha have identified fragmented land tenure and poor institutional coordination as the root causes of Kampala’s escalating solid waste crisis, asserting that the capital’s garbage emergency stems from a failure to organize land rather than a mere shortage of collection trucks.
The strategic meeting, convened on Tuesday in Kapeeka, Nakaseke District, brought together key leaders to review the Organic Dark Matter initiative—a joint intervention launched by the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), Operation Wealth Creation (OWC), and NWSC to tackle the city’s mounting sanitation challenges.
Kampala generates an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 metric tons of waste daily, but thin collection infrastructure, illegal dumping, and constrained disposal capacity leave over half of it uncollected. Organic waste accounts for roughly 80% of the total volume, presenting a bulky, complex handling challenge that requires significant, dedicated space.
Stakeholders at the meeting agreed that complex land tenure systems and weak inter-agency alignment prevent the acquisition and development of land needed for organic waste processing. Resolving these land ownership bottlenecks, the leaders noted, is a strict precondition for any sustainable solution.
The problem extends beyond solid waste.
While NWSC operates major regional treatment facilities—including the upgraded Bugolobi plant (capable of treating 45,000 cubic meters daily and generating biogas power), Lubigi, Nalukolongo, and the Kinawataka pre-treatment system—sewer coverage reaches only a fraction of the population. Most residents rely on pit latrines and septic tanks requiring mechanical emptying.
Gen. Saleh framed the crisis around broader economic land management, presenting Dr. Mugisha with a copy of his recent book, Organizing Land for National Economic Transformation: Kapeekanomics, Industrialization and Uganda’s Development Logic (co-authored with Dr. Pascal Odoch). The publication argues that Uganda’s core development bottleneck is not land scarcity, but the failure to organize it into productive capital.
Gen. Saleh commended NWSC for its proactive investments in the Namunkekera Industrial Area within the 5.2-square-kilometer China-Uganda Liao Shen Industrial Park in Kapeeka, where the corporation upgraded water supply systems using the River Mayanja. Dr. Mugisha reaffirmed NWSC’s commitment to inter-agency collaboration, institutional alignment, and partner mobilization to protect public health and advance sustainable waste management.
The systemic push for reform arrives as Kampala’s waste infrastructure continues to buckle under pressure, highlighted by the recent breakdown at the Buyala disposal facility during National Cleaning Day.
The high-level meeting was also attended by former Water State Minister Hon. Ronald Kibuule, National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) Executive Director Dr. Barirega Akankwasah, Ambassador Phillip Idro, and KCCA Director of Public Health and Environment Dr. Sarah Zalwango.
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