KAMPALA: The Minister of Local Government Raphael Magyezi has asked local government leaders to intensify mobilization for the National Cleaning Days to promote sanitation and hygiene within their respective areas of jurisdiction.
In September 2025, the government through the Ministry of Local Government announced that every last Saturday of the month from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. be reserved for general cleanliness in every local government to improve public health, sanitation, and environmental management.
But since the launch, only the Ministry of Health partnered Kampala Capital City Authority, and launched National Sanitation Week 2026, with a community clean-up exercise in Kamwokya.
They called for stronger collective action to improve hygiene and waste management across the country.
While the PS’ memo instructed the different stakeholders to take urgent action and implement the above directive, not much has been done, nearly seven months later.
Speaking to KFM in a telephone interview on Saturday, Minister Magyezi said more mobilization efforts are needed.
“Every last Saturday of the month, from 6 to midday, is National Cleaning Day. The whole country, it is now, up to each municipality, up to each sub-county, up to each parish or village, but I think we may need to put in more effort in terms of sensitization, because it’s not like the trade order you are seeing, where we have to enforce trade order. I think National Cleaning Days should be really for the LOC1, LOC2 chairperson, sub-counties, to do their best to keep their environment clean, but it needs sensitization”, Minister Magyezi said.
In a memo dated 15, September, 2025, the ministry of Local Government Permanent Secretary, Ben Kumumanya directed all Chief Administrative Officers, City Town Clerks to ensure implementation of the National Cleaning Days programme. “This should be done through a ‘whole of government approach’ involving all key stakeholders (Ministries, Departments and Agencies, Local Governments, Development Partners, Civil Society Organisations, Religious and Cultural Institutions and Communities)”, the memo read in part.
The National Cleaning Day is scheduled to take place every last Saturday of every month and will seek to involve national, district, sub county, parish, village and household levels.
According to Kumumanya, the proposed activities are categorized in five focus areas including Environmental cleanliness which will cover bush clearing, collecting of indiscriminately disposed refuse, clearing stagnant water and desilting of drainage channels as well as street sweeping.
The other category is waste management which includes promoting proper segregation, collection, transportation and disposal of waste, digging of refuse pits and removal of other nuisances. Under Safe Water, sanitation and hygiene, some of the planned activities include awareness campaigns for food handlers and food hygiene and safety as well as mobilization of communities to construct sanitation facilities.
