Who is in charge of Kampala city?
Nov 25, 2008
SUBMISSIONS before the commission probing the alleged abuse of power in Makindye and Kawempe divisions have raised more questions than answers about the management of Kampala.
By Joshua Kato
SUBMISSIONS before the commission probing the alleged abuse of power in Makindye and Kawempe divisions have raised more questions than answers about the management of Kampala.
The city is conflict-ridden with leaders tearing each other apart. Members of Parliament are at loggerheads with division chairmen and accusations and counter-accusations abound. This begs the question: ‘Who is in charge of the city?’
Because of the conflicts, the city has gone to the dogs. Potholes have become gullies, garbage heaps have become mountains and traffic jams have worsened.
More than half of the revenue collected is not properly accounted for. In fact Kampala City Council (KCC) was rated among the five most corrupt institutions by the latest integrity survey conducted by the Inspectorate of Government. The commission reveals why.
In the words of Makindye Division chairman Moses Kalungi, the city is under ‘mafias’, and for Michael Mabikke, the Makindye East MP, it is ‘thieves’ running the city.
The city has become a battle ground, with leaders fighting each other and the traders taking each other on over tenders. As a result, there has been loss of revenue in the city, through the last few years.
Appearing before the commission, Kampala Town Clerk, Ruth Kijjambu admitted KCC had no clear data base of tax payers, the number of taxis and the number of vendors in St. Balikudembe, Nakasero and other markets.
In Ndeeba and Wankulukuku markets, groups calling themselves National Resistance Movement mobilisers ‘simply’ took over the markets.
In Makindye division, over sh300m in revenue from Ggaba, Kibuli, Namuwongo, Katwe and other markets has not been collected due to the wrangles among the politicians. Kalungi blames Mabikke for the wrangles, allegations Mabikke denies.
According to Mabikke: “The cancer eating Kampala emanates from City Hall. Most of the revenue ends up in the hands of a few people, who misuse it.â€
In an unprecedented case, the Kawempe Division chairman Nasser Takuba dragged the city town clerk to court over what he termed as ‘incompetence.’
Takuba, Kalungi and other divisional leaders accuse the city authorities of recycling officers from one division to another.
In her defence about the alleged recycling of officers, Kijjambu, said when an officer is interdicted, they are investigated and only returned after being cleared.
In the Central Division, the area MP Erias Lukwago has opposed the mayor, Nasser Ssebagala over the handling of issues of vendors in both St. Balikudembe and Nakasero markets.
In Kampala, it is not uncommon for an order given by the mayor to be rebuffed by division leaders. For example, when the City Council tried to remove containers, allegedly in a road reserve in Wandegeya, they were stopped not only by the owners of the containers, but also by the division leaders.
Both Kawempe and Central division leaders claimed that KCC led by mayor Ssebagala had not consulted them before the operation. The containers were even recovered from the KCC holding yard in Industrial Area by Central Division chairman Godfrey Nyakana, and returned to the owners in Wandegeya.
When KCC orders hawkers to leave city streets, a counter order from Central Division can stop the directive.
“Every division chairman has officers in the law enforcement department. They use them to counter each other’s orders,†says a source. A KCC report released in November last year said Nyakana had a squad of kanyamas (muscle men). Nyakana, however, rejected the report findings.
One thing where city leaders lead is finger pointing! For every failure, a finger is pointed at somebody.
“The division is run by a ‘mafia,’ councillors are under the yoke of these mafias,†laments Richard Kalibbala, former Makindye Division Speaker.
But Ssebagala, while appearing before the committee, said the chairmen were the biggest problem in running the city.
“The division chairpersons have got so much powers. It has to be reduced,†he said. It is not clear what he meant by ‘too much powers’ yet the Local Government Act clearly spells out the powers of the officers at the various levels in the Local Government.
All this fighting creates more questions than fears. Who is in charge of the city? Are they mafias, thieves or incompetents — as sections of the leaders are saying? Meanwhile, the city continues to rot.
SUBMISSIONS before the commission probing the alleged abuse of power in Makindye and Kawempe divisions have raised more questions than answers about the management of Kampala.
The city is conflict-ridden with leaders tearing each other apart. Members of Parliament are at loggerheads with division chairmen and accusations and counter-accusations abound. This begs the question: ‘Who is in charge of the city?’
Because of the conflicts, the city has gone to the dogs. Potholes have become gullies, garbage heaps have become mountains and traffic jams have worsened.
More than half of the revenue collected is not properly accounted for. In fact Kampala City Council (KCC) was rated among the five most corrupt institutions by the latest integrity survey conducted by the Inspectorate of Government. The commission reveals why.
In the words of Makindye Division chairman Moses Kalungi, the city is under ‘mafias’, and for Michael Mabikke, the Makindye East MP, it is ‘thieves’ running the city.
The city has become a battle ground, with leaders fighting each other and the traders taking each other on over tenders. As a result, there has been loss of revenue in the city, through the last few years.
Appearing before the commission, Kampala Town Clerk, Ruth Kijjambu admitted KCC had no clear data base of tax payers, the number of taxis and the number of vendors in St. Balikudembe, Nakasero and other markets.
In Ndeeba and Wankulukuku markets, groups calling themselves National Resistance Movement mobilisers ‘simply’ took over the markets.
In Makindye division, over sh300m in revenue from Ggaba, Kibuli, Namuwongo, Katwe and other markets has not been collected due to the wrangles among the politicians. Kalungi blames Mabikke for the wrangles, allegations Mabikke denies.
According to Mabikke: “The cancer eating Kampala emanates from City Hall. Most of the revenue ends up in the hands of a few people, who misuse it.â€
In an unprecedented case, the Kawempe Division chairman Nasser Takuba dragged the city town clerk to court over what he termed as ‘incompetence.’
Takuba, Kalungi and other divisional leaders accuse the city authorities of recycling officers from one division to another.
In her defence about the alleged recycling of officers, Kijjambu, said when an officer is interdicted, they are investigated and only returned after being cleared.
In the Central Division, the area MP Erias Lukwago has opposed the mayor, Nasser Ssebagala over the handling of issues of vendors in both St. Balikudembe and Nakasero markets.
In Kampala, it is not uncommon for an order given by the mayor to be rebuffed by division leaders. For example, when the City Council tried to remove containers, allegedly in a road reserve in Wandegeya, they were stopped not only by the owners of the containers, but also by the division leaders.
Both Kawempe and Central division leaders claimed that KCC led by mayor Ssebagala had not consulted them before the operation. The containers were even recovered from the KCC holding yard in Industrial Area by Central Division chairman Godfrey Nyakana, and returned to the owners in Wandegeya.
When KCC orders hawkers to leave city streets, a counter order from Central Division can stop the directive.
“Every division chairman has officers in the law enforcement department. They use them to counter each other’s orders,†says a source. A KCC report released in November last year said Nyakana had a squad of kanyamas (muscle men). Nyakana, however, rejected the report findings.
One thing where city leaders lead is finger pointing! For every failure, a finger is pointed at somebody.
“The division is run by a ‘mafia,’ councillors are under the yoke of these mafias,†laments Richard Kalibbala, former Makindye Division Speaker.
But Ssebagala, while appearing before the committee, said the chairmen were the biggest problem in running the city.
“The division chairpersons have got so much powers. It has to be reduced,†he said. It is not clear what he meant by ‘too much powers’ yet the Local Government Act clearly spells out the powers of the officers at the various levels in the Local Government.
All this fighting creates more questions than fears. Who is in charge of the city? Are they mafias, thieves or incompetents — as sections of the leaders are saying? Meanwhile, the city continues to rot.