On July 25, Ugandans from all works of life participated in the inaugural National Cleaning Day. The National Cleaning Day will be held on the last Saturday of the month. The cleaning activities conducted countrywide are scheduled to take place from 7am to 10am.
We commend the government for this initiative because cleanliness is next to godliness, and we call upon everybody to embrace it because it is for the public good. A clean environment and observing personal hygiene keeps diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and dysentery at bay.
A healthy population is able to contribute better towards the social and economic development of the nation. When citizens are constantly falling sick because of preventable sanitation-related diseases, money that should have been spent on other pressing issues is diverted, leading to stagnation of individual and community growth. Cleanliness must always be observed at a personal and community level. The government must use all communication channels to constantly sensitise the populace about the National Cleaning Day and the importance of cleanliness.
To maintain a clean environment, we call upon residents of urban areas to stop dumping garbage in drainage canals. Littering, which is rampant in urban towns and cities across the country, must also stop henceforth. Garbage must be placed in waste bins, and the authorities in urban areas must ensure that these are placed in strategic places that can easily be accessed by the public.
Those who litter should be penalised to deter others from engaging in this vice. The government must also diligently implement the law that compels operators of public transport vehicles to equip them with waste bins. Passengers on buses and taxis are key contributors to littering, throwing rubbish out of vehicles because there is nowhere to put waste in the vehicles.
Buses and taxis without waste bins should be stopped from transporting passengers. When filled up, the authorities must ensure that the garbage bins are emptied without delay, and the garbage is disposed of in a manner that does not endanger the health of the public and does not degrade the environment. The government must also ensure that cities and towns have enough garbage trucks to enable the authorities in these areas to manage waste properly. Furthermore, the authorities in urban areas must build enough public toilets and ensure that the cost of using them is affordable to stop the habit of open urination and defecation.