In Summary: Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) plans to launch the first phase of its Buyala integrated waste management project this financial year after securing Shs25 billion in government funding. The initial works will include a waste sorting bay, fencing of the approximately 230-acre site and the purchase of 10 garbage trucks, as the Authority seeks to strengthen waste collection and recovery across Kampala.
Kampala, Uganda — Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has secured Shs25 billion in government funding for the first phase of an integrated waste management facility at Buyala, with plans to construct a sorting bay, fence the site and purchase 10 garbage trucks during the current financial year.
KCCA Executive Director Sharifah Buzeki outlined the plans on Wednesday while appearing before Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises, chaired by Muwada Nkunyingi. “We are going to buy 10 trucks, construct a fence and a sorting bay in the first phase,” Buzeki told the committee.
The funding will support garbage collection and evacuation alongside the initial development of the proposed facility, which is intended to strengthen waste management across the capital.
The first phase will include fencing the approximately 230-acre site and constructing a sorting bay. A weighbridge has already been installed, while KCCA is obtaining the site’s full master plan from the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA).
The wider project is intended to establish an integrated system that links waste collection with sorting, material recovery and processing, potentially reducing reliance on disposal alone.
KCCA also plans to attract private investors to establish waste processing and recovery facilities at Buyala. Space has been planned for about six companies, which are expected to design, finance, construct and operate their facilities before handing them over.
The Authority also intends to establish its own waste recovery facility as part of the proposed development.
The investment in collection vehicles is expected to strengthen KCCA’s capacity to evacuate garbage from residential neighbourhoods, commercial areas and public spaces. The sorting infrastructure, meanwhile, is intended to create opportunities to recover useful materials from waste and support more organised waste handling.
MPs call for more public dustbins
During the parliamentary session, Zombo District Woman Representative Topista Acamfua praised KCCA’s community sensitisation campaigns but called for more public dustbins to make proper waste disposal easier for residents.
“You are doing a great job sensitizing community on proper waste management but make it easier for people to dispose of rubbish properly by putting up more dustbins in the city,” Acamfua said.
Buzeki responded that KCCA would provide additional dustbins.
Buzaaya County MP Mugabi Muzaale Martin Kisule welcomed the proposed recycling system and asked whether KCCA pays private garbage collectors.
Buzeki said the Authority does not pay private collectors, explaining that the system operates under the polluter-pays principle provided for under Uganda’s National Environment Act. The principle places responsibility for the costs of managing pollution and waste on those who generate it.
KCCA updates Parliament on Kiteezi landfill
Hajat Buzeki also briefed the committee on rehabilitation work at the former Kiteezi landfill, reporting that at least 16 acres had been rehabilitated and 95 of the 96 affected people had been compensated.
She said KCCA had established facilities to treat leachate naturally over 21 days before its release, as part of measures to manage environmental risks associated with the site.
The Kiteezi update comes alongside plans for the Buyala facility, which is intended to provide a longer-term foundation for waste management in Kampala.
The proposed investment combines improvements in waste collection with infrastructure for sorting and recovering materials, while KCCA’s plans to bring in private operators could expand the range of processing activities available at the site.
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