A CLEAN CITY IS OUR ROLE.!
By Physical Planner
LUBADDE RAHIM
Today my forest is dark, the trees are sad and all the butterflies have broken wings. It has been the international cleanup day where many countries participated in city cleanups to recognize the day;
As usual, Kampala never waited the boat to capsize when I saw the mayor and the executive director in some form of activities geared towards the same. Other cities and urban councils across the nation where at rest. May be the respective ICT officers never knew about the day.!
Having it in mind that ensuring CLEAN & HEALTH cities is part of my roles as an upcoming planner, I slowly moved on the streets of Kampala this Saturday in broad day light.! I sum up my observations as NASTY.
Sewage flowing from large commercial and shopping malls down hill into poorer places of the urban vulnerable groups.. sewage moving freely with knowledge of the city authority.! sewage moving from the blocked and narrow sewer lines that were established during colonial days.! it is still a long journey..
It took me much longer while looking at solid waste management, but again not contrary to the above! it was no shock.! The daily trend of people throwing plastic bottles in drainage channels, the bitter taste of watching someone throwing polythene through a window screen of a Mercedes or even a Prado V8.
The mentality of backwardness still prevails..
Upon walking for so long, I became so much exhausted and got tired of pretending that am stronger: at that point, all I wanted was a resting place:
Fellow Urbanists, all I wanted was an open space to sit and relax my mind, to kill the fatigue.. Oooh my God: the closest open ground was freedom square (at clock tower).. which is out of the public accessibility.. what kind of city is this with open spaces that are not accessed freely.! then I remembered when mentor told me the difference between "availability and accessibility."
The untold story of the prodigal son.! All of a sudden, it started drizzling with small drops of water, all arcade workers begun locking there respective shops running towards different directions.. I was left perplexed standing in the middle of dispersing masses, stranded like a villager who lost direction on his first trip to the city center.! I only wondered why people were running because of rain.!
In a blink of an eye, many shops where locked and taxi parks were loaded instantly, all transport routes ran into jam.! the true character of an African town portrayed with immense unease.. The coming of rain marks the end of the day's activities to many in Kampala due to the fear of a flood wash.!
NB: City planners, Health inspectors and engineers, we owe you better.!
Let me not proceed to the pollution and the traffic flows I observed. City planners need to establish core solutions towards the increasing car usage in town and reducing distance through inducing taxes and encouraging mixed land uses.!
There is a need to sensitize the masses about our objectives.
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