By Aggrey Baba
Following the outbreak of the debate over property mogul Hajji Hassan Bulwadda’s proposed development of City Square, I have followed the arguments on both sides, listened to Bulwadda explain his vision and looked at the history and wider questions surrounding the site.
And from all this, I have come to a fairly simple conclusion, that Kampala should not dismiss this proposal before giving it a serious examination.
This is not because every detail of Hajj Hassan Bulwadda’s plan should be accepted without scrutiny. City Square is an important part of the capital city, with historical, environmental and public significance. But precisely because it is important, I believe the conversation should be about what the space can become for Kampala rather than simply whether it should remain exactly as it is.
I do not see the proposal simply as a businessman seeking to take over a public space for commercial purposes, but an attempt to put substantial private investment into one of the city’s most prominent locations and, at the same time, create a facility that can combine business, leisure, public amenities and environmental considerations, a distinction which is significantly important.
Hajj Bulwadda, recently explained on CBS radio that he wants an eco-friendly shopping mall with a hotel, while retaining and improving the greenery. He talked about free Wi-Fi, public toilets, sitting and relaxation areas and water fountains around the Independence Monument. He also spoke about using solar power and incorporating environmental features into the development.
Taken together, these ideas make the proposal much more interesting than the simple description of “building on City Square.” Kampala needs to attract serious investment, particularly investment capable of creating jobs and expanding the city’s commercial base. But it also needs better public amenities, cleaner and more organized spaces, places for people to rest and access basic services, and modern infrastructure that reflects the city it is becoming.
I therefore do not think the debate should begin and end with whether City Square has trees and green grass today.
The better question is whether those trees, the monument, public access and the historical character of the area can be protected while the space is modernized and made more economically productive.
There are genuine concerns on the other side. City Square has historical significance, and government designated it a protected historical and monumental site in 2007. Kampala Lord Mayor Ronald Balimwezo has argued that the space should remain open because of its environmental, recreational, historical and emergency-response value. Those concerns deserve proper consideration.
But I do not believe the existence of those concerns should automatically kill the proposal.
There is a difference between protecting a city’s heritage and refusing to allow the city to evolve.
Kampala has changed enormously over the years, and the demands on the city have changed, the population has grown and the value of centrally located land has increased.
The challenge is how to manage that growth without destroying the character and public value of important spaces. That is why I find the concept of combining development with greenery particularly worth exploring.
Modern cities increasingly use architecture to accommodate green spaces rather than treating buildings and greenery as mutually exclusive. A development can have landscaped areas, rooftop gardens, vertical greenery, terraces and other environmental features. Whether Hajj Bulwadda’s proposal can achieve that balance is something planners and environmental experts should determine from the actual designs.
The commercial side is equally important.
A hotel, shopping facilities and related businesses would bring economic activity into the area. Such a project could create employment, attract customers and visitors and provide opportunities for other businesses around it. The proposed investment has been put at about Shs470 billion ($125 million) making it a significant private investment proposition rather than a minor construction project.
And there is another part of the story that should not be forgotten.
City Square has been at the centre of commercial-development controversy before, including an earlier attempt associated with businessman Hassan Basajjabalaba. That history explains why some people are suspicious whenever redevelopment of the area comes up. But the controversies of the past should not prevent Kampala from examining a new proposal on its own merits. What matters now is whether the current proposal is legally possible, economically sound, environmentally responsible and capable of preserving the historical features that make City Square important.
This is also why the ongoing government review is useful. Museveni directed the relevant authorities to study the proposal rather than simply handing over the land, and State House Deputy Press Secretary Faruk Kirunda recently stressed that the process should consider the legal, environmental, economic and historical issues before any final decision is made.
For me, that is the right stage at which to have this debate.
I would not support handing over City Square without conditions, safeguards and a clear public-interest framework. But neither would I support rejecting a potentially transformative investment merely because the site has historically been open space.
If the investor can preserve the monument, maintain meaningful public access, protect and improve the greenery, provide the public amenities he has talked about and deliver the promised commercial and employment benefits, then Kampala should be willing to consider the possibility.
The city needs to preserve its past, but it also needs to build its future.
And perhaps that is the opportunity presented by the City Square debate, not whether Kampala should choose between heritage and development, but whether it can be innovative enough to have both.
For that reason, after looking at the wider picture (not just the young tycoon’s explanation), I think his City Square proposal deserves a serious and open-minded examination. The writer Aggrey Baba is an online news journalist based in Kampala. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
