Greater Kampala mayors commit to 2040 sustainable energy target
The mayors signed a joint declaration on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, at City Hall, Kampala, committing to establish the Greater Kampala Mayors’ Forum, with Kampala Lord Mayor Eng. Ronald Nsubuga Balimwezo as interim chairperson.
Mayors from the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area have committed to prioritising clean cooking and sustainable energy in their development plans and budgets. (Courtesy photo)
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Mayors from the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area have committed to prioritising clean cooking and sustainable energy in their development plans and budgets as they seek to tackle the region’s growing energy and waste-management challenges.
The mayors signed a joint declaration on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, at City Hall, Kampala, committing to establish the Greater Kampala Mayors’ Forum, with Kampala Lord Mayor Eng. Ronald Nsubuga Balimwezo as interim chairperson.
They also agreed to develop a 10-year Greater Kampala-wide sustainable energy access strategy and plan, with a clear target to be achieved by 2040.T
he forum brings together political mayors from Kampala, Wakiso, Mukono and Mpigi districts to coordinate responses to energy and environmental challenges that transcend individual administrative boundaries.
The commitments were made during the Greater Kampala Mayor’s Forum for a Sustainable Energy Future, convened by the Office of the Lord Mayor of Kampala under the theme “Towards a Waste-to-Energy Future.”
The forum was organised by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) Africa under the ENACTUS project, in partnership with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development’s Clean Cooking Unit, with support from UK Aid through the Modern Energy Cooking Services programme.
The meeting explored how the metropolitan area can turn its growing waste burden into a source of energy while reducing dependence on charcoal and firewood.
Waste as an energy resource
KCCA speaker John Mary Sebuufu said Kampala was struggling to collect all the waste generated in the city despite its potential to produce useful energy products.
“Kampala is constrained in the collection of waste, operating at just 30% capacity, yet this garbage can be made resourceful,” Sebuufu said.
He said countries were increasingly moving away from relying solely on landfills and were using waste to generate renewable energy.
Kampala generates about 2,500 tonnes of solid waste daily, according to KCCA figures. Recent figures cited by KCCA officials indicate that about 1,500 tonnes reach the Buyala Solid Waste Management Facility each day.
Sebuufu said part of the solution could be to convert waste into useful cooking-energy products, including charcoal briquettes, biogas and heat-retaining cooking materials.
Such alternatives, he said, could reduce pressure on forests while providing cleaner cooking options for the metropolitan population.
Call for affordable electricity
Sebuufu also called for greater access to affordable electricity for low-income urban households, arguing that the cost of energy influences the choice of cooking fuel.
“Make electricity cheaper for the people so that cooking with firewood is less attractive, especially for the urban poor,” he said.
The call comes against a backdrop of Uganda’s continued dependence on solid fuels for cooking.
According to the Uganda Demographic and Health Survey 2022, 67% of households use firewood and 24% use charcoal for cooking, while only about 1% use clean fuels.
The continued dependence on biomass has implications for household expenditure, public health, forests and the environment.
Mayors seek metropolitan solution
Balimwezo said the energy and waste challenges facing Kampala could not be addressed by the capital alone because their effects extend across the metropolitan area.
“In Kampala, most of the garbage that is collected is dumped, making hills that kill people, but this garbage can be put to good use,” Balimwezo said.
“Recently, the company invested over Sh2.2bn in our ghettos in Kampala to solve the cooking problem. We benefited from that, and we want to thank them,” he said.
Balimwezo said he had brought the metropolitan mayors together because the pressure on forests and demand for cooking energy was a shared problem.
“In Uganda, 84,000 hectares of vegetation cover is cut to provide cooking energy. Today I called the mayors here so that we can brainstorm solutions to this problem because it is not a problem for Kampala but a problem that affects all of us,” he said.
The Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area, comprising Kampala and parts of Wakiso, Mukono and Mpigi, is home to approximately 10% of Uganda’s population and accounts for an estimated 31% of the country’s GDP, according to the forum concept note.
The area is also experiencing rapid urbanisation, placing increasing pressure on waste management, energy access and other urban services.
The International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), the forum facilitators, said clean cooking and waste-to-energy provide practical entry points through which local governments can contribute to Uganda’s sustainable development agenda.
They noted that waste generated by the metropolitan population could be transformed into useful energy while reducing the environmental consequences of uncontrolled dumping.
Beyond Kampala
The proposed Greater Kampala Mayors’ Forum is intended to provide a standing platform through which metropolitan authorities can share experiences, coordinate action and integrate sustainable energy considerations into their development programmes.
The declaration is expected to form the foundation for developing the proposed 10-year sustainable energy strategy and advancing the 2040 sustainable energy access target.
The organisers also expect the platform to strengthen cooperation between local governments, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, development partners, Homeklin and other private-sector players.
The initiative is anchored in Uganda’s Energy Policy 2023, which recognises the need to strengthen local-government participation in energy planning and identifies waste-to-energy as an area for further development.
For the mayors, the immediate challenge is to turn the declaration into practical measures that can simultaneously address the metropolitan area's waste burden, dependence on biomass fuels and demand for affordable, cleaner energy.