Jospong Group helps Uganda tackle waste

The Ugandan government has struck a partnership with Ghana's Jospong Group of Companies (JGC) to decommission a 39-acre Kiteezi landfill site in the Wakiso District, near Kampala, and transform it into an ecological recreational facility.

As part of the project, the company plans to invest in integrated composting and recycling systems, transfer stations and provide comprehensive waste treatment and disposal solutions to improve environmental sanitation in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area.

The system will produce organic compost for agricultural and horticultural applications, while recovered plastics will serve as raw materials for a new bin manufacturing facility.

The initiative is expected to create over 2,000 direct jobs for Ugandans.

This collaborative project comes on the heels of a devastating waste slide on August 10, 2024, which resulted in 23 fatalities and significant property damage.

Jospong Group is renowned for its extensive experience in Africa and Asia.

As a highly diversified holdings company with many subsidiaries, it is credited with the expertise to manage waste and promote sustainability.

Ceremony

The project handover ceremony in Kampala was attended by the Minister of Kampala, Joseph Kyofatogabye, and the Executive Chairman of Jospong Group, Dr Joseph Siaw Agyepong.

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The landfill

The minister said the partnership was sanctioned by Cabinet, adding that the initiative was a significant step towards addressing waste management challenges in Uganda and promoting eco-friendly practices.

“We will significantly reduce the height of the current waste mass, stabilise the slopes and cap it, and transform the landscape of the Kiteezi community,” he emphasised.

Mr Kyofatogabye added that after a thorough search, the central government chose Jospong Group due to its resources, experience, expertise, and ability to provide cost-effective and easily implementable solutions.

“I just can't hold on any longer with all this garbage," he bemoaned.

He gave an assurance that individuals residing within a 200-metre radius of the site would receive government compensation.

The Executive Chairman of Jospong Group welcomed the project with optimism, expressing his company's extensive expertise in waste management garnered in over 25 years of operation.

"We have extensive experience in waste management, operating 16 plants in Ghana and having constructed an additional 38 facilities that specialise in medical waste and other waste materials," he said.

Dr Agyepong revealed that he had personally visited Uganda to study the country’s waste management system, and as a result, his company had adopted several innovative ways to manage it.

He gave an assurance that Jospong Group was committed to recovering the compost, which would subsequently become the property of the central government of Uganda.

He emphasised that given the high organic content of Uganda’s municipal solid waste, said to be about 80 per cent, the country had a unique opportunity to capitalise on the potential by converting the waste into organic fertilisers.