Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has asked Parliament to approve an extra Shs 6.018 billion to raise street cleaners’ wages, as the city expands and gears up for mechanised sanitation.
Under the proposal, daily pay for cleaners would jump from Shs 6,000 to Shs 10,000. KCCA Executive Director Sharif Buzeki presented the request on January 20, 2026, to Parliament’s Committee on Presidential Affairs while discussing the Authority’s 2026/27 National Budget Framework Paper.
According to documents submitted to Parliament, KCCA’s overall budget is projected to rise from Shs 950 billion in 2025/26 to Shs 1.1 trillion in 2026/27. Of this, Shs 12.983 billion is earmarked for street cleaners’ wages—an amount Buzeki described as insufficient to meet staffing and salary needs.
“Currently, a cleaner earns Shs 6,000 per day. We propose increasing this to Shs 10,000,” Buzeki told MPs. “With new roads under construction, we will need 432 additional cleaners to maintain approximately 81.87 kilometres of paved roads across the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area.”
The proposal drew tough questions from lawmakers, who questioned the logic of hiring more workers while also budgeting Shs 1.5 billion for street-cleaning machines.
“An extra 432 cleaners at Shs 10,000 per day will cost over Shs 1.5 billion annually—almost the same as the machines,” Ruhama County MP Benjamin Kamukama said. “Are we planning to phase out cleaners once the machines arrive? Why not outsource the work instead of paying daily wages?”
Minister of State for KCCA and Metropolitan Affairs Kabuye Kyofatogabye defended the plan, noting that mechanised cleaning systems could take up to a year to arrive.
“We cannot lay off workers now. Roads cannot be left unattended. Manual cleaning is still critical, especially for desilting to prevent floods,” Kyofatogabye said. He added that the cleaners would remain on the payroll for at least the next five years, even as mechanisation is gradually introduced.
The discussion also highlighted broader waste management concerns. Rubaga North MP Abubaker Kawalya criticized the government for failing to fund essential projects, including the Shs 80.3 billion needed to decommission and rehabilitate Kiteezi landfill, Shs 13.68 billion for a new facility in Buyala, and Shs 4.355 billion to compensate victims of last year’s Kiteezi tragedy.
“Government inaction on waste management is unacceptable. As a committee, we must push for practical solutions,” Kawalya said.
Additional reporting by Ug Bulletin
