Floods Paralyze Business in Kampala

Several businesses in Kampala were on Thursday disrupted following a heavy downpour that lasted nearly an hour.

At Ben Kiwanuka and Ssebana Kizito Streets, floods paralyzed the movement of both pedestrians and motorcycles. Traders with shops dealing in Agricultural products in Container village along Ssebana Kizito were forced to close after water entered their shops. 

Some traders attributed the floods to the drainage system along the road that was blocked. They asked Kampala Capital City Authority-KCCA to desilt the drainage to allow easy water flow.

 Luganda vox pop

//Cue in: "Enkuba eno ensanze…  

Cue out: ...kitambule bulungi"//   

There were also floods at the Clock Tower, Jinja Road traffic junction, and John Babiiha Road near the Golf Club.

Although bigger box culverts were constructed during the expansion of the road by KCCA, a substantive amount of water, from parts of Nakasero and Yusuf Lule road flooded the road posing yet another ugly experience for road users especially pedestrians and those using Boda Bodas.

The causes of floods in Kampala include poor drainage systems since several drainage channels especially those underground are decades old and were constructed to allow safe passage of smaller amounts of stormwater compared to the water currently seen. 

The drainage system is further affected by the poor garbage disposal habits of the people of Kampala who dump waste on streets and in drainage channels causing blockages.

There is a common habit that when rain falls, city dwellers release both human and domestic waste into drainage channels and compounds to be washed away by stormwater.  

KCCA is currently constructing bigger drainage channels as part of its road construction projects, expanding existing drainage channels like Nakamiro and Nsooba, and conducting mass sensitization campaigns named Bulungi Bwasi which among others seek to promote good garbage disposal habits.  

In 2017 KCCA came up with a drainage master plan which if implemented, it is believed shall put an end to the problem of floods in Kampala. 

The Authority needs over 774 billion shillings to implement the plan but is yet to receive funding.