By Leonard Kamugisha Akida,
KAMPALA
Cabinet has approved the establishment of a monthly National Cleaning Day, with the exercise scheduled to take place on the last Saturday of every month, officials have announced.
The resolution, passed by Cabinet on August 11, is awaiting official launch by the President’s Office, after which the exercise will be rolled out nationwide.
“The day that has been designated for the National Cleaning Day will be every last Saturday of the month, starting from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.,” said Cate Namyalo, Senior Environmental Officer at the ministry of health. “You close everything and we clean. It will be a national event.”
She journalists at Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala during a briefing ahead of World Cleanup Day. She disclosed that the programme is designed to involve all Ugandans regardless of age or status, including political, religion, and culture into civic community services locally known as Bulungi Bwansi . “Everyone will have to drop what they are doing and then we do this,” she emphasised.
The Office of the Prime Minister will coordinate the campaign across ministries, agencies, development partners, and district local governments. While the Ministry of Local Government will also play a central role in ensuring smooth implementation.
Namyalo said that no new funding would be required for the exercise, noting that instead, existing government budgets, donor programmes, and projects by civil society organisations will be integrated to support the initiative.
“The money is there. We are going to use the integration approach… and we shall make it work,” She said, pointing to successful models in Rwanda and Tanzania.
Swizini Kinga Mugyema, Commissioner for Local Council Development at the Ministry of Local Government, warned that community members who shun the exercise may face disciplinary measures through local council by-laws.
“Let’s utilize LC structures to create awareness, pass by-laws and administer justice through LC courts. For those who refuse, enforcement will apply,” he said.
“That’s why there is space for legislation (bylaws) so that tomorrow, if you choose to stay, they will make you clean and the rest of the people learn from it.”
Mugyema, who represented Permanent Secretary Ben Kumumanya, also proposed the use of performance indicators to measure the involvement of leaders and suggested incentives for the best performers.
“We can have incentives to reward the best performers so that we stimulate them to be competitive at each level of leadership,” Mugyema said.
Uganda now joins several African nations that have institutionalised community cleaning as part of public health and environmental management. Once officially launched, the exercise will be rolled out nationwide, covering all regions, institutions, and communities.
The announcement comes as Uganda prepares to mark World Cleanup Day on September 20, under the theme “Tackling Textile and Fashion Waste.” The organizers, Regional Centre for Human Security in the Greater Lakes Region (RC4HS-GKR), and Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation (MNF), have called on individuals, and institutions to participate by cleaning their surroundings including residences, Workplaces, schools, communities, and places of worship among others.
Nathan Mwesigye Byamukama, Executive Director of the Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation, noted that textile waste poses a growing threat to agriculture, water systems and human health. “A cleaner environment strengthens public health and reduces the burden on our health system,” he said.
Dr. Obed Akampumuza, head of cosmetology and fashion at Kyambogo University, described fashion waste as the second-largest global polluter after the aviation industry, urging Ugandans to adopt the 3Rs – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
Ugandans will be required to document their participation in the monthly cleaning exercise through photos and videos shared under the hashtag #CleanUganda2025.
