Kampala must develop without selling its soul
Kampala needs investment and modern infrastructure, but development must not come at the cost of the green spaces and public places that make the city liveable, writes Franco Balya
Franco Balya. (Courtesy)
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OPINION
By Franco Balya
Kampala must develop. There is no argument about that. Our capital needs more investment, better infrastructure, modern commercial facilities, decent housing, efficient transport and jobs for its growing population. A city that refuses to develop eventually becomes a burden to the very people it is supposed to serve.
But development must not become an excuse to consume everything that makes a city liveable.
That is why the renewed debate over Kampala’s City Square deserves a sober national conversation rather than another political shouting match.
The proposal to develop part of City Square into a modern commercial complex may promise investment, employment and new economic activity. Those are legitimate objectives. But Kampala’s leaders and citizens are equally entitled to ask a difficult question: what should never be sacrificed in the pursuit of development?
City Square is not simply another piece of urban real estate. It is part of Kampala’s civic and historical identity. Previous attempts to commercialise the area have already generated controversy and litigation. The history alone should compel the Government to proceed with exceptional transparency and caution. But the City Square debate should also force us to look beyond those two acres.
Kampala is steadily losing the green spaces that once gave it character and helped its natural systems function. Wetlands such as Nakivubo, Kinawataka and the wider Lubigi system, together with the few remaining parks, open spaces and green corridors, are increasingly squeezed by construction and urban expansion.
A wetland is working when it absorbs stormwater. A tree is working when it provides shade and moderates heat. A greenbelt is working when it slows runoff, supports biodiversity and gives residents somewhere to breathe. The problem is that the benefits do not appear on a developer’s balance sheet.
Kampala is already experiencing what happens when nature is treated as an obstacle to construction. Flooding, congestion, heat, poor drainage and declining environmental quality are not merely inconveniences. They are the hidden costs of poorly planned urbanisation.
This is why Kampala needs a new definition of development.
A modern city is not measured only by the number of skyscrapers, shopping malls and hotels it can erect. It is also measured by the quality of the spaces it preserves for people.
We should therefore be asking a bigger question: “why are we debating how to develop the few green spaces Kampala has left when we should be planning how to create more?”
Government and KCCA should consider establishing a deliberate network of protected green zones across the capital. Existing wetlands should be safeguarded. Road reserves should be landscaped wherever possible. Neighbourhood parks should be incorporated into urban plans. New developments should be required to provide meaningful green space rather than simply planting decorative shrubs at their entrances.
And investors should not be treated as the enemy.
Kampala desperately needs private capital. Investors should be welcomed and encouraged to build hotels, offices, shopping centres and mixed-use developments. But government must also have the courage to direct investment towards land that is appropriate for development.
If City Square must be improved, let us improve it without necessarily destroying its essential civic function. Imagine a truly modern public square: beautifully landscaped, shaded by trees, secure, clean, equipped with Wi-Fi, public amenities, cultural installations and spaces for national and civic events. Carefully planned commercial facilities could complement such a space without swallowing it. That would still be development and probably a more intelligent form of the same.
The question before Kampala is therefore not whether we want investment or green spaces. “We need both”.
The real test of leadership is whether we can pursue economic growth without mortgaging the city’s future.
Every generation inherits a city and eventually hands it over. We should not be remembered as the generation that converted every available open space into concrete simply because the land had a commercial value.
Some things are valuable precisely because they are not for sale.
Kampala needs more investment. It needs better buildings, better roads and better services. But it also needs trees, wetlands, parks, public squares and breathing spaces.
Let the hotels rise. Let businesses thrive. Let investors come. But let’s also get good quality air to counter the continuous pollution in the city.
But let Kampala remain a city where people can still find a tree under which to sit, a park in which a child can play and a public square that belongs to everyone.
Kampala must develop. But it must develop without selling its soul.