The National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) wants to improve faecal sludge management in Kampala, Uganda’s capital. She recently appointed six companies to collect and transport faecal sludge for a renewable period of one year.
These companies are Sheer Care Cleaning Services, Frempa Cleaning Services, Dream Solutions, Kyambadde Abas Enterprises, Shadil Enterprises and General Techniques and Engineering. The faecal sludge they collect will be transported to two existing sites. One of the sites is Bugolobi, southeast of the city of Kampala. Faecal sludge is treated near the wastewater treatment plant, which has a treatment capacity of 45,000 m³ of wastewater per day.
The trucks of these companies will also transport faecal sludge to the Lubigi site, owned by the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC). This site also has a wastewater treatment plant.
Conditions to be respected…
Obtaining the licence for a one-year period was not an easy exercise for the six companies. “Before licensing a company, we first assess its capacity based on the equipment it has available to perform the work. We do not want a situation where hazardous waste is dumped into the environment. That’s why we are strict when it comes to licensing,” says Naome Karekaho, Nema’s spokesperson.
The selected companies have committed to using certified vehicles that “must be in good condition with containers designed and maintained to receive hazardous waste”. The objective is to avoid faecal sludge discharges or foul-smelling odour emissions that would harm populations.
“In the event of the discharge or dumping of hazardous waste during transport, the company must immediately take appropriate measures to protect human health and the environment,” states the contract signed between Nema and the companies. He added that “authorised companies are audited to determine whether the waste they collect at source corresponds to that discharged to the treatment plant”. Nema reserves the right to revoke a company’s licence if the terms of the contract are not respected.
Jean Marie Takouleu