Lira City moves to have business owners clean on Friday

What the report says

Lira City Council is weighing a plan to ask business owners to clean their premises on Fridays, before Uganda’s monthly National Cleaning Day, which is held on the last Saturday of each month. The discussion comes after officials said many shop owners keep their premises closed during the official cleaning hours, making it harder for them to take part in the exercise.

According to the report from The Independent Uganda, City Mayor Sam Atul said the idea would help extend cleaning beyond the limited Saturday window and ensure more parts of the city are covered. He said the approach aligns with guidance that some cleaning can be done on Friday, particularly for businesspeople who are away from their premises during the weekend exercise.

North Kyoga regional police spokesperson Patrick Jimmy Okema also said the timing has been a challenge for some traders, noting that a Friday arrangement could make participation easier. Muhammad Ateeq Nawaz, president of the Lira Pakistan Association, went further and called for fines against dirty premises that remain locked during the cleaning day, arguing that cleaning is a shared civic duty. The debate reflects broader enforcement questions around Uganda’s monthly sanitation drive, which began in July 2026 and temporarily restricts movement of most vehicles and motorcycles during the morning cleanup period.