KAMPALA, UGANDA – The Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has asked Parliament for an additional UGX 6.018 billion to fund a significant wage increase for the city’s street cleaners.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The proposal, presented on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, aims to raise a cleaner’s daily pay from UGX 6,000 to UGX 10,000, a 66% increase for the essential workforce that keeps the capital clean.
The Executive Director of KCCA, Ms. Dorothy Kisaka, made the appeal before Parliament’s Committee on Presidential Affairs while presenting the Authority’s 2026/27 National Budget Framework Paper.
Ms. Kisaka revealed KCCA’s overall budget is projected to grow from UGX 950 billion to UGX 1.1 trillion, with UGX 12.983 billion allocated for street cleaners’ salaries.
She argued, however, that this sum is insufficient to fund both the necessary wage increase and the hiring of additional staff for the city’s expansion.
“Currently, a cleaner is paid a daily rate of UGX 6,000; we propose to increase it to UGX 10,000. The increasing number of roads being constructed will require an additional 432 cleaners, as we anticipate adding 81.87 kilometres under the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area,” Ms. Kisaka told the committee.
The request sparked a robust debate on the city’s long-term cleaning strategy, with Hon. Benjamin Kamukama challenging KCCA to justify hiring more personnel while also seeking UGX 1.5 billion for machinery.
He pressed for clarity on the most cost-effective path, asking directly whether new machines would eventually phase out cleaners and why a more efficient, mechanized option was not being prioritized.
“Why hire hundreds of new cleaners for UGX 1.5 billion while requesting the same amount for machines? What is the best, most cost-effective path, and will these machines eventually phase out the very workers you propose to hire?” Hon. Kamukama asked.
Hon. Abubaker Kawalya (Rubaga North) expressed deep concern over the government’s failure to allocate any funds for the UGX 80.3 billion needed to decommission and rehabilitate the problematic Kiteezi landfill.
Similarly, a further UGX 13.68 billion for a new waste disposal facility in Buyala and UGX 4.355 billion for compensating Kiteezi victims also received zero allocations.
“We need action on waste management. After last year’s tragedy in Kiteezi, we expected the government to ensure this was resolved. As a committee, we must now act,” Hon. Kawalya stated.
The session highlighted the dual challenge facing city leaders: addressing the urgent welfare needs of sanitation workers while planning a sustainable, modern waste management system for a growing Kampala.
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