Entebbe to be part of new Kampala city
KAMPALA City will include Entebbe municipality when the new capital city law comes into force. The Kampala-Entebbe road corridor would be part of the new city stretching 3km west of the road, and up to Lake Victoria in the east.
By Cyprian Musoke
KAMPALA City will include Entebbe municipality when the new capital city law comes into force.
Addressing a press conference at the Ministry of Local Government headquarters in Kampala yesterday, the state minister for local government, Hope Mwesigye, said the Kampala-Entebbe road corridor would be part of the new city.
The city will stretch 3km west of the road, and up to Lake Victoria in the east.
Kira Town Council in Wakiso district will also be part of Kampala.
“In view of the importance of the Entebbe-Kampala corridor as an entry into Kampala city, there is need to have controlled planning and development in this area,†she said.
She blasted Kampala City councillors who last week objected to the proposed take-over, saying their resolution is null and void as it contravenes the Constitution.
“The debate on whether Kampala city should be administered by the central government ended in 2005 during the constitutional amendment process. What we are now focusing on is to implement what the Constitution commands us to do,†she said.
She said the purpose of the new law is to make sure that the city is managed to international standards using global trends and experiences in urban planning, development and management.
“Today, Kampala is under the Local government Act, both as a city as well as a district like any other in the country. It receives the same attention and benefits from the central government like other districts in terms of allocation of resources.
“In so doing, many unique problems and needs of Kampala as a capital city have not been addressed and attended to for a long time,†she said.
Kampala, she added, has a population of about 1.8 million people and an annual demographic growth rate of 3.9%, which is well over the national rate of 3.3%.
“It is the hub of our country’s economic, political and administrative activities. The standard of service delivery is, therefore, expected to be high, at least comparable to those in other cities of the world,†Mwesigye stressed.
With a dense population, she added, the existing infrastructure such as roads, health facilities, sanitation and waste disposal is grossly inadequate in relation to the fast growing population.
“These services are many and costly. They cannot be left to Kampala city alone,†she said.
Under the new law, the city will be a body corporate under direct supervision of the central government. But the lower councils will not be corporate.
The mayor, deputy mayor, chairpersons and vice- chairpersons of city divisions shall be elected from the councillors. Professional bodies shall be represented in the council and relevant ministries will be ex-officio members.
A “strong†executive director and a deputy will be the chief executives and representatives of the central government.
A metropolitan police under the Uganda police, and a directorate of revenue collection under the Uganda Revenue Authority, all deployed and paid by city council, will be put up.
A metropolitan planning authority will be established to address planning issues in Kampala and the neighbouring districts of Mukono, Mpigi and Wakiso.
“It will have powers to veto bad physical plans or activities that are in contravention of the metropolitan development authority,†Mwesigye said.
She said the proposed city plan was not connected to the amendments to the Land act and the Kampala Capital City Bill.
“I have heard that KCC councillors have resolved that they should be given sh160m (sh5m each) to mobilise the people against the proposed new law.
This is illegal, unnecessary and wasteful expenditure, which the Town Clerk (Ruth Kijjambu) should not incur,†she said.
KAMPALA City will include Entebbe municipality when the new capital city law comes into force.
Addressing a press conference at the Ministry of Local Government headquarters in Kampala yesterday, the state minister for local government, Hope Mwesigye, said the Kampala-Entebbe road corridor would be part of the new city.
The city will stretch 3km west of the road, and up to Lake Victoria in the east.
Kira Town Council in Wakiso district will also be part of Kampala.
“In view of the importance of the Entebbe-Kampala corridor as an entry into Kampala city, there is need to have controlled planning and development in this area,†she said.
She blasted Kampala City councillors who last week objected to the proposed take-over, saying their resolution is null and void as it contravenes the Constitution.
“The debate on whether Kampala city should be administered by the central government ended in 2005 during the constitutional amendment process. What we are now focusing on is to implement what the Constitution commands us to do,†she said.
She said the purpose of the new law is to make sure that the city is managed to international standards using global trends and experiences in urban planning, development and management.
“Today, Kampala is under the Local government Act, both as a city as well as a district like any other in the country. It receives the same attention and benefits from the central government like other districts in terms of allocation of resources.
“In so doing, many unique problems and needs of Kampala as a capital city have not been addressed and attended to for a long time,†she said.
Kampala, she added, has a population of about 1.8 million people and an annual demographic growth rate of 3.9%, which is well over the national rate of 3.3%.
“It is the hub of our country’s economic, political and administrative activities. The standard of service delivery is, therefore, expected to be high, at least comparable to those in other cities of the world,†Mwesigye stressed.
With a dense population, she added, the existing infrastructure such as roads, health facilities, sanitation and waste disposal is grossly inadequate in relation to the fast growing population.
“These services are many and costly. They cannot be left to Kampala city alone,†she said.
Under the new law, the city will be a body corporate under direct supervision of the central government. But the lower councils will not be corporate.
The mayor, deputy mayor, chairpersons and vice- chairpersons of city divisions shall be elected from the councillors. Professional bodies shall be represented in the council and relevant ministries will be ex-officio members.
A “strong†executive director and a deputy will be the chief executives and representatives of the central government.
A metropolitan police under the Uganda police, and a directorate of revenue collection under the Uganda Revenue Authority, all deployed and paid by city council, will be put up.
A metropolitan planning authority will be established to address planning issues in Kampala and the neighbouring districts of Mukono, Mpigi and Wakiso.
“It will have powers to veto bad physical plans or activities that are in contravention of the metropolitan development authority,†Mwesigye said.
She said the proposed city plan was not connected to the amendments to the Land act and the Kampala Capital City Bill.
“I have heard that KCC councillors have resolved that they should be given sh160m (sh5m each) to mobilise the people against the proposed new law.
This is illegal, unnecessary and wasteful expenditure, which the Town Clerk (Ruth Kijjambu) should not incur,†she said.