Government Releases Shs 13.6 Billion to Settle City Cleaners’ Arrears

Government has released up to Shs 13.6 billion to pay arrears of city casual laborers, including cleaners. This development was announced by the Minister for Kampala, Minsa Kabanda, on Thursday evening.

Minister Minsa said that the government had released up to Shs 13.6 billion that is meant to pay 4,400 workers.

On Tuesday, dozens of city cleaners took to the streets of Kampala, protesting unpaid wages of up to six months. This protest moved across the city and climaxed at the authority’s headquarters.

The Tuesday protest was the fourth by the city workers since the start of the year, raising questions about whether the authority is serious about addressing their concerns. It came barely three months since the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, directed KCCA to promptly clear their arrears.

The speaker made this directive in a meeting at Parliament attended by top city officials, including Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago and KCCA Executive Director Dorothy Kisakka. The speaker called the meeting after a section of city workers, including cleaners, staged a protest over unpaid wages at the gate of Parliament.

Following the running battles with Police, KCCA released a statement on Tuesday night calling for calm. In the statement, KCCA promised to sort out the arrears of the workers after engagements with their respective town clerks.

Breathe of hope

However, this revelation by the Minister of Kampala comes days earlier than the planned meetings with the town clerks. The meeting was slated for Monday, 10th June 2024.

Fast forward to Thursday, the Kampala Minister, Kabanda, confirms that the distribution of money to city workers will start next week on June 13.

The money is already in our accounts, and we shall pay them to zero balance.

Minister Kabanda

Additionally, she announced plans for KCCA to carry out a head count to ascertain the exact number of staff they have. During this process, the laborers are expected to identify themselves using their national IDs and community saccos.