On Friday, June 17, 2022, the LATAWAMA project team made of Didier CADELLI (the Intervention Manager) and Fridolin NZAMBIMANA (the Intervention Officer, Solid Waste Management) handed over to Kigoma/Ujiji Municipal Council (KUMC), solid waste collection equipment made of six motorized tricycles, one repaired mini-truck, 15 Points of Sales (POS), 120 complete Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and three skip-buckets/containers.
The official handover ceremonies were held at the KUMC Headquarters in the presence of Ms. Lucia Chingulu, the District Administrative Secretary for Kigoma District, M. Baraka N. Lupoli, the Mayor for Kigoma City, and Mr. Kajanja Lawi, the Acting Kigoma/Ujiji Municipal Director.
The new equipment contributes to the implementation of the pilot project named “Zoa Taka, boresha afya mazingira” (Remove the waste, improve the environmental health) aimed at enhancing the waste collection method and system and fees collection in five wards of Kigoma central business district by empowering four community-based organizations (CBO). The provided tricycles will help the community-based organizations improve solid waste collection.
In her remarks, while receiving the equipment from Didier CADELLI, Ms. Lucia commended the project LATAWAMA for the support provided to ensure that the Kigoma / Ujiji Municipality is cleaner and its people healthier. Furthermore, she urged the community-based organization members to manage the equipment and use it for its sole purpose.
For the Kigoma/Ujiji, the Municipal authorities thanked the project for its commitment to improving the municipal solid waste management service by supporting the CBOs, creating of employment, and collecting municipal.
In his remarks, the Intervention Manager of the LATAWAMA project reminded the public that the project has the mission of helping the council prevent solid waste discharge into Lake Tanganyika and ensuring the technical and organizational capabilities of solid waste managers and handlers are enhanced. He concluded by mentioning that the project financed the training at the Vocational for Education and Training Authority (VETA) of four (4) women and two (2) young men from the targeted CBO who will be operating the six motorized tricycles as part of bridging the gap of gender inequality and capacity building in the area of solid waste management.
The LATAWAMA project is funded by the European Union, and implemented by the Belgian Development Agency, alongside Lake Tanganyika Authority.