What neighbours actually paid this month for a sack of charcoal, a vendor's jerrycan of water, a kilo of posho and a gas refill — the daily costs nobody publishes a price for.
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From Town Tools. For the current version, visit https://www.towntools.org/kampala-central-region-ug/what-charcoal-water-and-gas-cost
Charcoal, a jerrycan of water from a vendor, a kilo of posho, a gas refill — these are the costs that eat into a day's earnings before rent is even in the picture, and with roughly 1.5 million Kampalans paid in irregular daily cash, they matter more than a monthly bill would suggest. Nobody publishes a running price for any of them.
This board is built from neighbours. Sign in, say what you paid, and once a few people have reported the same thing the board shows the middle figure of the recent reports — a number one loud voice can't move.
Charcoal — a full sack
per sack · However full the seller heaps it — sack sizes and heaping vary. Charcoal has swung by more than double within a single year before, on rains, transport costs and scarcity.
No prices reported yet — be the first.
Water — a 20-litre jerrycan, from a vendor
per 20 L jerrycan · Not the NWSC standpipe rate. This is what a cart, tank or borehole vendor charges when your tap is off or your area has no piped connection — it can run many times higher during a shortage than on an ordinary week.
No prices reported yet — be the first.
Maize flour (posho)
per kg · Ordinary milled posho, not sifted or premium flour.
No prices reported yet — be the first.
Cooking gas — 6 kg cylinder refill
per 6 kg refill · The refill only — swapping your empty cylinder for a full one, not a new cylinder-and-burner set.
These are prices neighbours report paying — not official prices, and not advice on where to buy. Anyone can read the board; reporting a price takes a free account, which keeps it honest. We show the median of recent reports once at least 3 people have reported an item, so no single number sets the figure. A report ages off after about 45 days, so the board stays current on its own.
These are neighbours' figures — what residents say they actually paid, not an official price list. KCCA and the government publish no running series for what a sack of charcoal, a vendor's jerrycan, a kilo of posho or a gas refill cost in Kampala right now, so nobody keeps this except the people buying it. The board waits for at least three reports before it shows a price at all, and drops anything older than about six weeks so it tracks what things cost now, not last quarter. Prices move with the season, with fuel costs, and for water, with whether the tap in your area is even working — a report from a bad shortage week and one from an ordinary week are both real, they're just different weeks.