Budaka LC5 Boss Tells Residents To Construct Pit Latrines

Post date: Jul 30, 2013 8:45:16 AM

By Emmanuel Okwii

The Budaka local Council 5 chairperson, Mr. Arthur Mboizi, has told residents in the district to construct more latrines such that diseases that are hygiene related are minimized. While addressing the district council on Tuesday, he said that low latrine coverage and water scarcity had impeded the efforts to improve sanitation and hygiene in the district.

“It has come to our notice that most families in the district don’t have latrines. For this reason, the district has moved to implement and enforce the by-laws to compel each household to own a pit-latrine, a garden of cassava and planting trees,” Mr. Mboizi said

According to Mboizi, this is likely to be a significant move in the fight against diseases that are caused by poor sanitation and hygiene adding that the numbers that have been flocking health centres to seek treatment for diarrhea, cholera and typhoid had suffocated medical resources in the district.

“Many diseases that are reported at the health centres in the district can be prevented but because our people are not willing to improve their sanitation and hygiene, the have constantly fallen victims of the same ailments,” Mboizi went on.

The Budaka district health inspector, Mr. Robert Ochola, said that statistics had revealed that only 60 percent of the 120,000 people in Budaka district own pit latrine while the remaining persons don’t have latrines

“We are currently undertaking a sanitation campaign to sensitize the locals about the importance of pit latrine construction,” Mr Ochola said

He also went ahead to support the district chairman in a move that will see households mandated to own pit-latrines through a bill that is in offing.