Senior Presidential Adviser Gen. Salim Saleh and National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) Managing Director Dr. Eng. Silver Mugisha have urged government agencies to overhaul land ownership management to resolve Kampala's solid waste crisis.
The two officials spoke in Kapeeka, Nakaseke District, during a strategic review meeting on the Organic Dark Matter sanitation initiative.
The joint initiative involves Operation Wealth Creation (OWC), NWSC, and Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA).
Stakeholders emphasized that the capital’s waste problems stem from a failure to organize land effectively rather than a shortage of garbage trucks.
Kampala generates 2,500 to 3,000 metric tonnes of waste daily, but collection systems handle less than half of that volume.
Approximately 80 percent of the city's daily waste consists of organic material, which requires specialized space for processing and composting.
Participants noted that complex land tenure systems and contested land ownership constrain the development of collection centers, transfer stations, and waste-processing facilities.
Gen. Saleh linked the sanitation challenge to his broader development philosophy outlined in his book, Organizing Land for National Economic Transformation: Kapeekanomics, Industrialization and Uganda's Development Logic.
Co-authored with development scholar Dr. Pascal Odoch, the publication argues that Uganda's economic constraints arise from uncoordinated land use rather than a scarcity of land.
Gen. Saleh presented a copy of the book to Dr. Mugisha during the meeting.
The meeting highlighted Kapeeka as a successful model for coordinated land planning, where concentrated infrastructure enabled the China-Uganda Liao Shen Industrial Park to thrive.
Gen. Saleh commended NWSC for extending water supply networks from River Mayanja to support industries and neighboring communities in Kapeeka.
Dr. Mugisha reaffirmed NWSC’s commitment to strengthening inter-agency collaboration, mobilizing development partners, and promoting public health through sustainable waste management.
Although NWSC operates major treatment plants at Bugolobi, Lubigi, Nalukolongo, and Kinawataka, most city residents remain unconnected to the main sewer network and rely on pit latrines or septic tanks.
The meeting was attended by former State Minister for Water Ronald Kibuule, National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) Executive Director Dr. Akankwasa Barirega, Ambassador Phillip Idro, and KCCA Director of Environment Dr. Sarah Zalwango.