UGANDA, Kampala | Real Muloodi News | The Kampala Lord Mayor, Erias Lukwago, has called upon the government to come up with a comprehensive approach to reduce public expenditure so that funds can be reallocated to solve pressing needs of Kampala city.
Lukwago said this while he was addressing councillors on the state of the city, the city’s achievements for 2022 and its priorities for 2023.
“It is ironic that this year’s national budget has increased exponentially from USh44 trillion to USh48 trillion despite the fact that the economy is struggling, but the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) budget has been slashed drastically. Where is the will and spirit of developing Kampala?” exclaimed Lukwago.
According to the 2022/2023 budget framework, KCCA’s budget was slashed by USh20 billion to USh420 billion, down from the USh441 billion it was allocated this current financial year.
Erias Lukwago added that without the government prioritising funding for Kampala City, its vision and mission of transforming into a vibrant, resilient, sustainable, inclusive, liveable and functional city will remain a mere dream.
“The city is grappling with poor roads, poor drainage, and government is not committing enough funds to address this,” he said.
He further called for the amendment or even repealing of the KCCA Act to make a unified law that governs all cities in Uganda, to address inconsistencies that impact service delivery.
The Minister for Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs, Minsa Kabanda, said, “We are all concerned about the issues you have raised like devolution, floods and funding. We shall organise another meeting to see what we can do as leaders to address these challenges.”
Speaking about the city’s achievements, Lukwago said that during the past year, the leadership generated policies and bills for ordinances to guide the transformation of Kampala.
Some of the ordinances include; the Kampala Capital City Markets Ordinance, the Kampala Capital City CCTV ordinance, the Kampala Capital City Outdoor Advertising ordinance, the Kampala Capital City Historical Buildings and Sites ordinance, the Kampala Capital City Gender-Based Violence ordinance, and the Kampala Capital City Enforcement of Rights of People with Disabilities, 2022.
“The bill for an ordinance that is proposed to preserve historic buildings should be of public interest so that it protects the cultural legacy, educational and tourism benefits that will be maintained and enriched for future generations,” Lukwago explained.
On the issue of next year’s priorities, Lukwago mentioned the number of developments like the city lighting, where KCCA will install up to 42,000 lights.
Dorothy Kisaka, the KCCA Executive Director, said the lord mayor’s report was gratifying to put to record what the city has achieved in this financial year.
“Our focus is on ordinances which are the enabling tracks to address the various challenges including public transport, outdoor advertising, the markets, law enforcement, street trade order and operation of heavy trucks,” Kisaka said.
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