KCCA Executive Director Sharifah Buzeki says the authority is following President Yoweri Museveni’s guidance to adopt modern waste management technologies as MPs question the reported directive and public investment in Buyala.
Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Executive Director Sharifah Buzeki has told Parliament that President Museveni has been aware of the Buyala landfill project from its inception, amid questions over a reported presidential directive to end conventional dumping and adopt modern waste management technologies.
Buzeki told Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE) that KCCA was preparing to transition from conventional landfill dumping to waste processing and recovery technologies in line with the President’s guidance.
“The President is aware from the inception, even up to where we are now,” Buzeki said.
She added that KCCA was in advanced stages of finalising a competitive dialogue with companies interested in converting waste into energy and other useful products.
Her remarks followed questions from the committee chairperson about the reported presidential directive, how it had been communicated and its implications for the substantial public investment already made at the Buyala site.
The committee sought to establish whether the President had been fully briefed on the project and whether the directive could affect the facility and its supporting infrastructure.
Lawmakers also raised questions about the economic implications of relocating or discontinuing operations at Buyala, given the public resources already committed to the project.
Buzeki said KCCA had received funding from Parliament through the Ministry of Finance to support the first phase of the transition towards an integrated waste management facility.
She maintained that the authority would not return to conventional dumping, regardless of whether the proposed waste processing technologies were eventually established at Buyala or another location.
“Wherever we go, we are not going back to dumping, because the President guided us on that. He said, ‘Stop dumping, embrace modern technology,’ and that is the road we are on,” Buzeki said.
She added that KCCA had established procedures for handling presidential directives and would follow the appropriate administrative processes as it implements the guidance.
COSASE is seeking to establish the facts surrounding the reported directive, the extent of the government’s awareness of the Buyala project and the implications for public resources already invested in the facility.
The inquiry comes as KCCA pursues plans for an integrated waste management facility at Buyala, incorporating technologies designed to recover reusable materials and convert waste into valuable products rather than relying on landfill disposal.