Is the takeover of Kampala well-intentioned or political?
Dec 12, 2007
THE Ministry of Local Government will soon introduce a bill in Parliament on the administration and development of Kampala. The details of the bill have not been revealed; however, according to reliable sources, if approved, the city will be run by a government appointee, at the level of an executiv
By Joshua Kato
THE Ministry of Local Government will soon introduce a bill in Parliament on the administration and development of Kampala. The details of the bill have not been revealed; however, according to reliable sources, if approved, the city will be run by a government appointee, at the level of an executive officer. He or she will be the chief implementer of policies passed by the City Council that is led by the mayor.
Kampala has five divisions with a population of about two million people. The divisions are Makindye, Nakawa, Kawempe, Rubaga and Kampala Central. Kampala is currently governed under a three-tier system. It comprises the mayor and his executive. The mayor is the head of the executive and is directly elected by the city dwellers, division chairmen and parish chiefs. Division chairmen are also elected directly, while parish chiefs are appointed.
The mayor and the division chairpersons have an executive body composed of themselves and at least five elected councillors. Both the city and the divisions have a council comprising directly elected councillors from various parishes. Under the new set up, the five divisions will officially gain municipality status. This will, therefore, be able to get direct funding from the central government and not through the city.
“Leaders of these municipalities will be called mayors,†says Winnie Makumbi, the Rubaga division chairperson. She says the system is operational in Dar-er-Salaam, Tanzania.
Adopting this system means enlarging the city boundaries by a radius of between 10 and 20 miles. Currently, on Jinja Road, the city stops at Kireka. Under the new system, the city will have to be extended to Seeta. On Hoima Road, where the city stops just before Nansana, it will be extended to Nansana. On Masaka Road, the city stops at Busega, but it will have to be extended beyond Kyengera and on Bombo Road, the city stops at Kawempe but will be extended to Kawanda. According to critics, the appointment of the top city executive officer will take away the democratic rights of city dwellers to vote for a candidate of their choice. Besides, they argue that it is against the values of decentralisation.
Funding
The declaration of Kampala as a separate city status will lead to increased funding from the central government. According to the mayor, Nasser Sebaggala, the problems of Kampala are not largely caused by poor funding, but poor administration.
The Constitution acknowledges Kampala like any other district, therefore, it draws finances from the same vote like the rural districts. Currently, the city has a sh54b budget; the Government will provide sh28b, while the local government will contribute sh26b from the local revenue.
Big districts like Masaka, Wakiso, Mukono and Bushenyi have an average budget of sh34b per year. And at least 90% or sh30b of their budgets are financed by the central government. It is worth noting that at least 75% of this budget is not spent on development, but workers’ salaries. Yet, it costs at least sh800m to construct city roads.
With over 900kms in bad shape, the sh10b annual city budget for roads would only cater for constructing 10kms per year, yet the city needs at least sh360b to tarmac its roads. Unlike rural districts, the city has traffic and street lights that consume a lot of power. Kampala City Council (KCC) has to provide at least sh5b every year, to cater for power bills. But due to a small budget, many lights are rendered useless because UMEME switched them off due to unpaid electricity bills.
Garbage
This is one of the ills that have ravaged the city. KCC needs at least 100 garbage trucks to operate round-the-clock if all the garbage is to be removed. However, the city has been maintaining around 20 trucks, just 20% of what they need. Again, KCC blames the lack of trucks on inadequate funding from the central government.
The city, therefore, gets almost the same funds from the central government like other districts, whose population is much lower than Kampala’s. Critics of the proposal say if Kampala got enough funds, it would look different from what it is today.
“If you consider the amount of money the Government has spent on beautifying the city in the last few months, you will realise that this is more of a funding issue than an administration problem,†Latif Ssebagala, the MP for Kawempe North explains. “We need about sh200b to operate like a city. Government has never committed itself to giving us such funding. Let them do so and if we fail, they can blame us for poor performance,†he adds.
Variations
One of the variations that may have a direct link to what the Government may be proposing for Kampala is Liverpool in the UK. The city is led by an executive officer, who is appointed and considered a civil servant. He is responsible for the day-to-day running of the city.
However, there is also a city leader, who is elected from the directly elected representatives of the council. There is also a City Executive Board, headed by the city leader. It is similar to Kampala City Executive. Its members are given various roles, just like the ones allocated to KCC secretaries.
But New York city offers a different set up. Rather than having just a mayor as the head of the city, there are two other top officers; the city public advocate and the city comptroller. These officers are directly elected by New York voters. The public advocate eases public relations between the mayor and the public, while the city comptroller manages the pension fund and advises the mayor on financial and fiscal policy transactions.
The three officials are elected by the population and below them is a council of 51 members who are also directly involved in day-to-day policy formulations. Voters are also largely involved in deciding their leaders.
THE Ministry of Local Government will soon introduce a bill in Parliament on the administration and development of Kampala. The details of the bill have not been revealed; however, according to reliable sources, if approved, the city will be run by a government appointee, at the level of an executive officer. He or she will be the chief implementer of policies passed by the City Council that is led by the mayor.
Kampala has five divisions with a population of about two million people. The divisions are Makindye, Nakawa, Kawempe, Rubaga and Kampala Central. Kampala is currently governed under a three-tier system. It comprises the mayor and his executive. The mayor is the head of the executive and is directly elected by the city dwellers, division chairmen and parish chiefs. Division chairmen are also elected directly, while parish chiefs are appointed.
The mayor and the division chairpersons have an executive body composed of themselves and at least five elected councillors. Both the city and the divisions have a council comprising directly elected councillors from various parishes. Under the new set up, the five divisions will officially gain municipality status. This will, therefore, be able to get direct funding from the central government and not through the city.
“Leaders of these municipalities will be called mayors,†says Winnie Makumbi, the Rubaga division chairperson. She says the system is operational in Dar-er-Salaam, Tanzania.
Adopting this system means enlarging the city boundaries by a radius of between 10 and 20 miles. Currently, on Jinja Road, the city stops at Kireka. Under the new system, the city will have to be extended to Seeta. On Hoima Road, where the city stops just before Nansana, it will be extended to Nansana. On Masaka Road, the city stops at Busega, but it will have to be extended beyond Kyengera and on Bombo Road, the city stops at Kawempe but will be extended to Kawanda. According to critics, the appointment of the top city executive officer will take away the democratic rights of city dwellers to vote for a candidate of their choice. Besides, they argue that it is against the values of decentralisation.
Funding
The declaration of Kampala as a separate city status will lead to increased funding from the central government. According to the mayor, Nasser Sebaggala, the problems of Kampala are not largely caused by poor funding, but poor administration.
The Constitution acknowledges Kampala like any other district, therefore, it draws finances from the same vote like the rural districts. Currently, the city has a sh54b budget; the Government will provide sh28b, while the local government will contribute sh26b from the local revenue.
Big districts like Masaka, Wakiso, Mukono and Bushenyi have an average budget of sh34b per year. And at least 90% or sh30b of their budgets are financed by the central government. It is worth noting that at least 75% of this budget is not spent on development, but workers’ salaries. Yet, it costs at least sh800m to construct city roads.
With over 900kms in bad shape, the sh10b annual city budget for roads would only cater for constructing 10kms per year, yet the city needs at least sh360b to tarmac its roads. Unlike rural districts, the city has traffic and street lights that consume a lot of power. Kampala City Council (KCC) has to provide at least sh5b every year, to cater for power bills. But due to a small budget, many lights are rendered useless because UMEME switched them off due to unpaid electricity bills.
Garbage
This is one of the ills that have ravaged the city. KCC needs at least 100 garbage trucks to operate round-the-clock if all the garbage is to be removed. However, the city has been maintaining around 20 trucks, just 20% of what they need. Again, KCC blames the lack of trucks on inadequate funding from the central government.
The city, therefore, gets almost the same funds from the central government like other districts, whose population is much lower than Kampala’s. Critics of the proposal say if Kampala got enough funds, it would look different from what it is today.
“If you consider the amount of money the Government has spent on beautifying the city in the last few months, you will realise that this is more of a funding issue than an administration problem,†Latif Ssebagala, the MP for Kawempe North explains. “We need about sh200b to operate like a city. Government has never committed itself to giving us such funding. Let them do so and if we fail, they can blame us for poor performance,†he adds.
Variations
One of the variations that may have a direct link to what the Government may be proposing for Kampala is Liverpool in the UK. The city is led by an executive officer, who is appointed and considered a civil servant. He is responsible for the day-to-day running of the city.
However, there is also a city leader, who is elected from the directly elected representatives of the council. There is also a City Executive Board, headed by the city leader. It is similar to Kampala City Executive. Its members are given various roles, just like the ones allocated to KCC secretaries.
But New York city offers a different set up. Rather than having just a mayor as the head of the city, there are two other top officers; the city public advocate and the city comptroller. These officers are directly elected by New York voters. The public advocate eases public relations between the mayor and the public, while the city comptroller manages the pension fund and advises the mayor on financial and fiscal policy transactions.
The three officials are elected by the population and below them is a council of 51 members who are also directly involved in day-to-day policy formulations. Voters are also largely involved in deciding their leaders.