Big task ahead for local govt minister
EDITOR’S COMMENT<br><br>After Maj. Gen. Kahinda Otafiire’s five-year tenure as local government minister, the office has got a new minister, Adolf Mwesige.
EDITOR’S COMMENT
After Maj. Gen. Kahinda Otafiire’s five-year tenure as local government minister, the office has got a new minister, Adolf Mwesige.
The Ministry of Local Government is one of the largest in the country. The minister is in charge of 81 districts, 1,000 sub-counties and over 50,000 villages. He is also in charge of 20% of Uganda’s annual budget.
During Otafiire’s term, strides have been made in deepening the decentralisation system, which is the core of local government administration.
For instance, local leaders can now communicate with one voice under their umbrella organisation, the Uganda Local Governments Association.
However, Otafiire leaves behind a lot of challenges for the new minister, including the endless property wrangles in Kampala.
Apart from Shauri-yako Market, the other city markets, including St. Balikudembe, Kisekka and Nakasero are still dogged by contests between market vendors and investors, over who should be awarded the lease to re-develop them.
The sensitive issue of the operations of the Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers Association is yet to be settled.
Districts are crying over poor funding from the central government, which they claim has affected service delivery. Corruption also remains a mainstay in local governments.
These are but a few of the big challenges facing the new minister and local leaders are waiting to see how he handles them.
After Maj. Gen. Kahinda Otafiire’s five-year tenure as local government minister, the office has got a new minister, Adolf Mwesige.
The Ministry of Local Government is one of the largest in the country. The minister is in charge of 81 districts, 1,000 sub-counties and over 50,000 villages. He is also in charge of 20% of Uganda’s annual budget.
During Otafiire’s term, strides have been made in deepening the decentralisation system, which is the core of local government administration.
For instance, local leaders can now communicate with one voice under their umbrella organisation, the Uganda Local Governments Association.
However, Otafiire leaves behind a lot of challenges for the new minister, including the endless property wrangles in Kampala.
Apart from Shauri-yako Market, the other city markets, including St. Balikudembe, Kisekka and Nakasero are still dogged by contests between market vendors and investors, over who should be awarded the lease to re-develop them.
The sensitive issue of the operations of the Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers Association is yet to be settled.
Districts are crying over poor funding from the central government, which they claim has affected service delivery. Corruption also remains a mainstay in local governments.
These are but a few of the big challenges facing the new minister and local leaders are waiting to see how he handles them.