A tour operator with others stranded on the way from Western Uganda to Entebbe Airport Kampala, Uganda | URN | Businesses in Kampala, other major cities and on highways were disrupted Saturday morning as the country launched the monthly National Cleaning Day. The day that was preceded by announcements by the Office of the Prime Minister, which were widely amplified by other agencies and the media, especially social media, still caught many off guard. By 7.00 am highways suddenly became deserted as vehicles were stopped at the first encounter with police.
Some travellers aboard buses received news while already along the way that they could not continue with the journey until after at least three hours because it was National Cleaning Day. While others were aware of the new national event, many did not know how the implementation would be or that it would involve blocking roads and shutting down the country. One major transport company, Link Bus Services Ltd, which operates between Kampala and border areas in Western Uganda, informed its prospective customers that takeoff times would be between 4.00 am and 6.00 am, followed by a “sanitation pause” through to 10.00 am, when there would be no departures.
Normal business would resume at 10.10. Unfortunately for the travellers, this announcement first went out at 9.20 pm (at night) and many could not have seen it. Other night travellers were just minutes from their destinations after moving overnight for as much as 500 kilometers, where they were told to stop at 7am until the exercise was completed at 10.00am.
At Buloba traffic check, where a bus going to Bundibugyo through Fort Portal had been stopped, passengers were in a heated argument, with some saying the day was not communicated while others said they had seen the announcements in the media. A similar argument was heard between a female shopkeeper who was forced to hurriedly close, and her neighbour, over the cleaning announcement. While both agreed that it was a welcome development, the woman said that it should have been publicised by Local Councils too.
In many places shops remained closed as the cleaning exercise went on, though there were reports in some areas that business was as usual. Commercial Banks, that usually open at 9.00 am on weekends, remained closed to business, issuing announcements that they would open at 12.00 pm and others 12.30 …
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