Uganda Enforces Monthly National Clean-Up

Uganda has introduced a mandatory monthly community clean-up exercise as part of efforts to improve environmental sanitation and tackle the country’s growing waste management challenges. The initiative, known as National Cleaning Day, requires eligible residents to participate in community sanitation activities or risk legal action.

The first exercise will take place on Saturday between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m., with all Ugandans aged between 18 and 65 expected to spend three hours cleaning their communities. Government spokesperson Dennis Patrick Katungi said participation is compulsory for people within the specified age group, while those above 65 years may join voluntarily.

Parents have also been encouraged to involve their teenage children in the exercise to promote environmental responsibility. Security personnel will be deployed across the country to monitor compliance with the directive.

To support the exercise, businesses will remain closed during the three hours, while the movement of vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles and boats will be restricted except for emergency services. Authorities said the measures are intended to ensure widespread participation and allow communities to carry out the clean-up without disruption.

Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja described the initiative as a civic responsibility and warned that anyone who fails to participate without a valid reason could face enforcement measures under the law. Foreign residents living in Uganda will also be expected to take part. The programme mirrors similar mandatory monthly community service initiatives already operating in neighbouring Rwanda and Burundi, where regular clean-up exercises have been credited with improving public sanitation and environmental awareness.

SOURCE: Reuters