Wakiso leaders petition gov't over 'unfair' funding
Mar 04, 2015
Leaders from Wakiso have petitioned Government over what they called an ‘unfair’ budget allocation to the district, demanding a formulation of an equitable policy on national resource sharing to improve service delivery in Uganda’s second most urbanized town.
By John Agaba
Leaders from Wakiso have petitioned Government over what they called an ‘unfair’ budget allocation to the district, demanding a formulation of an equitable policy on national resource sharing to improve service delivery in Uganda’s second most urbanized town.
The leaders, meeting at the Stallion Hotel in the Kampala suburb of Busega, also asked Government to grant municipal statuses to eight (8) of the sub-counties in the district.
“We are governed as a rural area, yet we are the most highly urbanized district in the country (apart from Kampala). According to provisional results from the 2014 National Population and Housing Census, Wakiso is the most highly populated district in the country, with a population of 2,007,700 compared to Kampala (which comes in second place) with a population of 1,516,210 people. But last year, Kampala was allocated sh300b and Wakiso sh30b. This is ‘grossly’ inappropriate,” said Ambassador Kintu Nyango, also the Deputy Permanent Representative of Uganda to the UN.
“Government needs to start allocating funds for service delivery vis-à-vis the number of the population in a given locality — not allocating funds on a district status,” he said.
As a result of the ‘funding’ inequalities, Kintu Nyango expressed that the district was lagging behind in terms of social economic development — and it was fast transforming into one “vast slum” without planned habitation, organized sewage disposal, organized garbage collection, street cleaning and organized road system.
“One of the ways to know you have reached Wakiso is when you hit the murram road. You are in Kampala, the whole place is tarmac, but when you reach Wakiso, its murram” Charles Kituuka, the Kasanje LCIII chairperson, said.
“And some people are saying we are not working. How do you work with such a limited budget? Government allocation of resources should be according to per capita.
“A lot people work in Kampala, but they stay in Wakiso. And when they fall sick, they come to Wakiso. But do we have any referral hospitals in any of our sub-counties? No.” challenged Kituuka.
Gerald Wilson Mukasa, the Katabi LCIII chairperson, appealed for allocation of municipal statuses for all Wakiso district sub-counties that are urbanized and make a population of up to 70,000 people.
“This is the threshold (70,000). It is even above the national average. Because Moroto municipality (according to the 2014 Census results) has 14,818 people; Bushenyi-Ishaka municipality, 41063 people; Kabale municipality, 49, 667 people; and Ntungamo municipality, 18,854; and Rukungiri municipality 36509,” he said.
According to the Census, Kiira Town Council (in Wakiso district) has a population of 313, 761 people; Makindye Sabagabo, 284, 067 people; and Wakiso sub-county together with Wakiso Town Council, 237, 881 people.
Nsangi sub-County has 197, 991 people and Nangabo sub-county 146, 400; Nansana Town Council, 144, 441 people; Nabweru sub-county, 109, 600; and Kitabi Sub-county, 104, 335; and Ssisa Town Council 93, 238.
Stanley Kabuye, the LCIII chairperson for Bussi Islands revealed that many public servants shun working in the area because of its hard-to-reach nature. He asked Government for special consideration like in the case of Karamoja or even Kalangala districts to see that services reach people.
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