ARUA - A FILTHY CITY AS AUTHORITY FAILS TO CLEAR GARBAGE COLLECTORS
Arua Central city division continues to suffocated with garbage as the 0ver 480 Million budget allocation for the garbage management goes short fall.
This has been more visible as the city authority fails to clear the current garbage collectors procured by the Central City Authority.
While speaking to dailywestnile.info, Arua central division council authority confirms and admits to the media that it has failed to pay street cleaners [Service providers] for over five [5] past months.
As of the current financial year of 2022/2023, the Central City Division council authorities and executives had procured services of six companies or groups that were verbally contracted by Arua central division council authority to clean the streets.
The six groups includes; Dikiri ber, new Owino Bodaboda, Obolokofuku west, Baruku youth among others.
However, report reaching our news desk at dailywestnile.info indicates the City authorities have been breaching the garbage collection contract terms.
The manager of Dikiri ber group, Francis Oguta, one of the service providers revealed to dailywestnile.info on Wednesday 10th/10/2022 that the council has not paid their salary arrears for over five months’ worth over UGX 8Million.
He added that the non-payment of the salary arears is affecting him so badly because he is now using his own money to pay the workers.
He further stressed that currently the six service providers if jointly push for their unpaid arrears then the figure would have reached more than 10 Million.
The manager of Dikiri ber group, Francis Oguta,
Whereas Musema Bahal, the coordinator of Obolokofuku garbage management group also explained that since they were contracted to do the work by the central division council, they were paid only for one months out of the five months they have worked for
Musema Bahal, the coordinator of Obolokofuku garbage mgt
Currently, there are six groups that were verbally contracted by Arua central division council authority to clean the streets. The six groups includes; Dikiri ber, new Owino Bodaboda, Obolokofuku west, Baruku youth among others.
The division mayor of Arua central Khemis Muzaid, says that they delayed to pay the street cleaners because the central government have not yet remitted the money to the council authority and also due to recent transition of municipality to city level that has dragged them for some times.
Division mayor of Arua central Khemis Muzaid
The deputy city clerk of Arua, Cornelius OJobile appealed to residents in the city to cooperate with authority in keeping the city clean by not dumping rubbish anywhere but should use the litter bins that were put beside the roads.
Arua central division city council authority has allocated over Ugx 480 million for the garbage management for the financial year of 2022_2033.
Currently, abandoned landfills are a common sight along Duka road, Ojio road, Adumi road, Lemerijoa road among others in Central Division. Also, areas around Arua Main market, and Ediofe junction road has continued to harbor huge filthy heaps of poorly disposed of garbage.
Heaps Of Garbage Seen On Arua City Street - CC URN
In 2015, at the inaugural African mayor’s awards in Luanda, Angola, Arua town emerged the second cleanest small city after Cape Verde’s Praia. However, three years later, Arua was named one of the dirtiest Town in Uganda due poor garbage management.
It is estimated that more than 70,000 tonnes of garbage is generated daily in Arua city, but only less than half is collected, according to records from city health and environment office.
STORY BY: ANWANGKANI FRANCO - Dailywestnile.info
