The Rubanda District Woman MP, Ninsiima Evelyn Kikafunda, has called on the government to provide adequate waste disposal facilities in all districts to improve waste management.
Kikafunda, who serves on the Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources and Environment and the Climate Change Committee, made the call on Wednesday at Muko Market Centre in Rubanda District, where she led traders and residents in a clean-up exercise.
Kikafunda expressed concern over the shortage of waste bins and garbage collection centres, saying the gap undermines the National Cleaning Day initiative observed every last Saturday of the month.
“We thank the government for the initiative of National Cleaning Day, but where does this waste go if there are no garbage collection centres?” Kikafunda asked.
She also urged the government to provide each district with garbage collection vehicles to facilitate the transportation and proper disposal of waste.
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Kikafunda said she decided to organise the clean-up after visiting Muko Market and finding large heaps of plastics and polythene bags scattered around the area.
“I informed the district and sub-county authorities about my plan to lead this cleaning effort,” she said.
She warned that improperly disposed waste could be washed by rain into rivers and lakes, contaminating water sources and posing health and environmental risks.
“This is exactly how we get cancer. The particles of plastics and polythene bags that we unknowingly ingest or drink originate from improperly managed waste,” Ms Kikafunda said.
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Muko Sub-county Chief Rebecca Kehoda said the authorities had been conducting regular cleaning exercises at the market but were constrained by the lack of a garbage collection centre.
Kehoda said the absence of adequate waste disposal facilities remained a major challenge in keeping the market clean.
She asked Kikafunda to use her position on parliamentary committees to lobby for improved waste management infrastructure in the district.
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Kikafunda also donated waste bins to Muko Market and urged traders and community members to use them responsibly.
The bins are labelled for different types of waste, including plastics and polythene bags, to promote proper separation and disposal of waste.
Kikafunda is also the president of the Green Environment Project (GEP), through which she has promoted environmental conservation initiatives, including tree planting and the distribution of solar equipment to residents to reduce reliance on charcoal and other sources of biomass energy.
