The Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has asked Parliament to approve an additional UGX 6.018 billion to support a proposed increase in the daily pay of street cleaners and the recruitment of more workers, a move the Authority says is necessary to keep pace with the city’s expanding road network.
The request was tabled by KCCA Executive Director Sharif Buzeki before Parliament’s Committee on Presidential Affairs on January 20, 2026, as he presented the Authority’s 2026/27 National Budget Framework Paper.
KCCA is proposing to raise the daily wage of street cleaners from UGX 6,000 to UGX 10,000, arguing that the current allocation is inadequate. According to budget documents, the Authority’s overall budget is projected to grow from UGX 950 billion in the 2025/26 financial year to UGX 1.1 trillion in 2026/27. Out of this, UGX 12.983 billion has been earmarked for cleaners’ salaries.
Buzeki told MPs that the amount falls short of covering both increased wages and the recruitment of additional staff.
“Currently, a cleaner is paid a daily rate of UGX6000; we propose to increase it to UGX10,000. The increasing number of roads being constructed will require an additional 432 cleaners, we anticipate to add 81.87Km under the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Authority,” Buzeki told MPs.
The proposal triggered concern from legislators, particularly over KCCA’s plan to expand its workforce while simultaneously seeking funds for mechanised cleaning.
Ruhama County MP Benjamin Kamukama questioned the logic behind hiring more cleaners yet allocating UGX 1.5 billion for the procurement of street-cleaning machines.
“In this document, you need an extra 432 cleaners and a simple calculation, at UGX10,000, which you want to pay them; these additional, in a year, you need over UGX1.5 Billion, but you are also proposing to procure machines for cleaning at UGX1.5 Billion,” Kamukama said.
He further pressed KCCA to clarify its long-term approach to street cleaning.
“What is the best option, and if you procure these machines, are you going to phase out cleaners? Because the cost ofan extra 432 workers is the same cost of procuring machines, why don’t you opt for cheaper machines? And is it hard to contract out this activity? Why should KCCA be the one to pay daily?”
In response, Minister of State for KCCA and Metropolitan Affairs Kabuye Kyofatogabye defended the Authority’s position, saying mechanisation cannot immediately replace manual labour.
“At this moment, you can’t lay off workers, because even the machines we are talking about might take even a full year to come; shall we leave the roads like that until the machines are procured? Remember, we are adding on stock in terms of kilometres of paved roads,” Kyofatogabye said.
He added that both methods will remain necessary in the foreseeable future.
“So, at one time, we shall need mechanised cleaning of these roads, but also, we shall maintain manual cleaning, especially when it comes to distillation, to avoid more floods. So, we may not lay off workers;we will maintain them for the next five years.”
Concerns were also raised over waste management funding, particularly following last year’s Kiteezi landfill tragedy.
Rubaga North MP Abubaker Kawalya expressed dissatisfaction with the absence of funding for critical waste management projects.
“We need to do something when it comes to waste management, last year when we had the atrocity in Kiteezi, we had a discussion over this matter during the budget process and some of us had thought that Government is going to improvise and make sure that this is a done deal, and when you look at their presentation, there is zero money, Government isn’t willing to fund this program, as this Committee, we need to do something,” Kawalya said.
He noted that no funds have been allocated for the UGX 80.3 billion required to decommission and rehabilitate the Kiteezi landfill, the UGX 13.68 billion needed to establish a new waste disposal facility in Buyala, or the UGX 4.355 billion earmarked for compensating Kiteezi victims.
Parliament is expected to make recommendations on KCCA’s budget proposals as scrutiny of the 2026/27 national budget continues.
