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The Weyonje application, developed by the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), has created 15,000 formal and informal jobs within a year in Kampala. The app, which utilizes geographic information systems (GIS), addresses the sanitation crisis in the city by allowing residents to request pit emptying services.

In just a single year, the Weyonje application has generated at least 15,000 formal and informal jobs in Kampala, according to Dorothy Kisaka, the Executive Director of the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA).

The positions, which primarily help Kampala locals, include machine operators, emptiers, and trainers for pit latrine emptiers.

Kisaka claims that the Weyonje app is an example of a geographic information systems (GIS)-enabled innovation that has significantly improved public health in addition to revolutionizing the city’s sanitation services.

She clarified that Kampala, which has a daytime population of over 4 million and a nighttime population of 2 million, was confronted with a serious sanitation crisis that put the health of its residents at risk.

“Informal pit latrines were widely used prior to Weyonje, but their upkeep and emptying were irregular, uncontrolled, and frequently dangerous. Serious risks to public health were posed by the cholera outbreak and water source contamination that resulted from this, according to Kisaka.

Speaking at a ceremony held at the Serena Hotel in Kampala on Thursday, December 14, Kisaka gave a speech about receiving the Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation last week in China.

The award honors creativity in enhancing urban governance and sustainability in the social, economic, and environmental spheres in cities and regions, ultimately boosting the well-being and prosperity of their populace.

The World Association of the Major Metropolises, the United Cities and Local Governments, and the City of Guangzhou are co-sponsoring it.

Taking care of sanitation

Residents can request pit emptying services through the “Weyonje” app, guaranteeing that sanitary needs are attended to promptly. With the help of the GIS mapping component, which offers real-time data on pit latrine locations across the city, sanitation teams can more effectively plan their routes, give priority to areas that have the greatest need, and make sure no area is missed.

According to Kisaka, the app was developed as a response to the problems caused by inadequate sanitation, which she claimed resulted from the city’s constantly expanding population.

“KCCA is prioritizing health because it is the only way to enjoy life and because health is life itself. Since then, we’ve worked to guarantee high-quality health,” Kisaka stated.

The word “clean yourself” is weyonje. It began as a broad behavioral change initiative to help Kampala’s efforts toward inclusive sanitation across the entire city.

The campaign’s goal was to make sure that garbage and human waste were transported from homes to the treatment facility on time.

64% of city dwellers use pit latrines (of which more than half are unlined), 29% use septic tanks, and 1% defecate in the open. These statistics are provided by KCCA. Merely 8% of the populace has toilets that flush and is connected to the sewer system. There were only 16 public restrooms in the city, according to reports from 2020.

People started throwing human waste into drainage channels because there weren’t enough pit latrines or other sanitary facilities for the growing population. This poses serious problems for environmental pollution and public health. Since 2017, there have been multiple cholera outbreaks in Kampala.

Speaking at the same event, John Mary Ssebuwufu, a KCCA Lord Councilor from Bukoto II, stated that there are now 17 public restrooms and that people are having problems with sanitation.

He made a plea to the government to provide more funds so that more public restrooms could be built, ensuring the city’s proper sanitation and hygiene.

“We cannot do anything reasonable with the little funds we receive from the central Government; we urgently need funds to have more toilets constructed,” Ssebuwufu stated.

In all 99 parishes in Kampala, KCCA intends to construct more than fifty public restrooms, according to the city’s directorate of public health.

The budget to support the construction was ready, according to Hajat Minsa Kabanda, Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs Minister, and work would start early in 2019.

“In order to better serve the populace, we wish to see 50 public restrooms constructed in Kampala. Health is extremely important and cannot be disregarded, according to Kabanda.