Speaker of Parliament Anita Among has, in a meeting with Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) leadership, resolved the year-long payment troubles of the city’s casual labourers.
The street sweepers, who are organized in Saccos, have gone for four months without pay, prompting their peaceful protest in front of Parliament on Thursday last week.
Speaker Among announced in today’s meeting with KCCA leaders including Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, that payments are to be made to the sweepers’ Saccos on Wednesday, March 6, 2024.
“Payment is going to be made tomorrow [and concluded there and then], not starting tomorrow; let us have these people paid, it looks ugly seeing them suffering; these are your mothers, wives and sisters; it is not a good sight, seeing them troubled and pained,” she said.
After addressing the sweepers on Thursday last week at Parliament’s entrance, Speaker Among called a Monday, March 4, 2022 meeting with KCCA Executive Director Ms Dorothy Kisaka and Mr Ramathan Ggoobi, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development / Secretary to Treasury which resolved to clear the arrears.
In today’s meeting, Speaker Among advised Ms Kisaka to itemize the payment of the sweepers under the entity’s recurrent and not development expenditure as is the case today, which she said frustrates seamless releases, leading to such frustrations.
“The delay is because you budgeted for it as development expenditure; in the new Financial Year, it has to be put under recurrent expenditure,” she said.
KCCA & Metropolitan Affairs Minister Hon Minsa Kabanda was sighed to have the long quarrel resolved.
“We have been with this issue for over a year, and we are happy that you have helped us to finally resolve this problem,” she said.
Ms Kisaka confirmed payment will be effected on Wednesday March 6, 2024.
Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago said the challenges arose following attempts to phase out the casual labourers under their Saccos in favour of one company, which he said has been adamant about absorbing the existing work force.
He proposed the zoning of Kampala to accommodate the interests of the cleaners under their Saccos, and also the company which has a running tender for city sanitation.
“It was very clear that we needed to divide Kampala into clusters, into the ten constituencies so that ultimately, the Saccos can have some areas and Seven Hills [the company] also runs others; [instead]there is a systematic move to phase out the old Saccos,” he said.
