The newly launched National Cleaning Day programme is facing scrutiny, with a Makerere University scholar warning that the monthly shutdown could disrupt key sectors of the economy.
The directive, which requires citizens to take part in a nationwide clean-up every last Saturday of the month, brings movement and business to a standstill for several hours.
While the government says the exercise is aimed at improving sanitation and preventing disease outbreaks, critics are beginning to question its wider impact.
Makerere University scholar and political theorist Yusuf Sserunkuma has challenged the policy, asking whether the country has fully considered its economic cost.
“What really is the cost of a National Cleaning Day – that shuts down the country for four full hours?” Sserunkuma posed.
He argued that in a modern economy where productivity is closely tied to time, even short disruptions can have far-reaching consequences.
“In the modern capitalist world where everything – production, wealth, labour, life and delivery – is estimated in hours against tight schedules, shutting down the country destabilises entire chains,” he said.
Sserunkuma pointed to disruptions across multiple sectors, including delays in food supply chains, interruptions in manufacturing processes, and missed appointments in hospitals and financial institutions.
He further warned that the effects extend beyond Uganda’s borders, given its position within regional trade networks.
According to him, the shutdown risks interfering with cross-border logistics and international supply chains.
“Uganda behaves like an island despite being fully immersed in a regional and global system,” he said.
He cited delays in cargo movement, including shipments through the port of Mombasa, grounding of cargo flights, and late arrivals by truck drivers heading to Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Such delays, he noted, can affect insurance timelines and disrupt coordinated transport schedules.
The government has defended the programme as a necessary step toward improving public hygiene, especially in urban centres.
However, Sserunkuma’s remarks add to a growing debate over how to balance public health measures with economic activity in an increasingly interconnected system.