By Aggrey Baba
A new report to Parliament has revealed that Uganda’s newest cities are struggling not just because of poor funding, but mainly due to poor coordination between ministries.
The recent report, presented by the Public Service and Local Government Committee, shows that different ministries in charge of city development are not working together, resulting into confusion, delays, and failure to deliver basic services in cities like Masaka, Jinja, Gulu, Arua, Mbarara, and Mbale.
The Ministry of Local Government (MoLG), which is supposed to oversee the city councils, is not fully in charge of key issues like land use and planning, saying they are handled by the Ministry of Lands, which has delayed approving city physical development plans, without which, cities can’t build new roads, drainage systems, or set up proper markets and buildings.
At the same time, the Ministry of Finance continues to release money without clear rules on how it should be used. Some cities are getting funds, but still don’t have staff or equipment to put the money to proper use, while many don’t have city engineers, legal officers, or health inspectors.
In some places, district authorities are said to still be controlling services like garbage collection and road maintenance, even after city status was granted, an overlap between districts and city councils making it hard for city leaders to do their jobs.
According to today’s New Vision, Local Government Minister Raphael Magyezi admitted that there is a big problem and said a new law is being prepared to clearly define who is responsible for what, saying this will help guide how cities are run and how new ones like Entebbe, Moroto, and Nakasongola will be created.
He further warned that if the current cities fail to meet the required standards and performance within the remaining two financial years, their city status could be revoked. Magyezi said the government will not hesitate to withdraw city charters from urban authorities that continue to operate without clear plans, technical staff, and essential services.
Speaker of Parliament Anita Among directed that the involved ministries report back within 90 days with a clear plan showing their responsibilities, timelines, and how they will fix the current problems, with MPs warning that unless the ministries work together, the entire programme to grow Uganda’s cities could fail.
The creation of new cities has also been halted by legislators, until the government gets control of the confusion in the ones that already exist. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
