Uphill task for Lord Mayor Lukwago in NUP-dominated council

Out of the 54 councillors in the new city council, National Unity Platform party has 43 while Forum for Democratic Change, which Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago subscribes to, has only three councillors. Amos Ngwomoya, looks at how Lukwago will navigate the murky waters at City Hall.

On May 27, Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago sounded a warning bell to National Unity Platform (NUP) councillors while delivering his inaugural speech shortly after being sworn in for a third term.

“Stay in your lane and know your limits. Watch your steps and move consciously. If you think of fighting me like what your colleagues did to me in my first term, I know how to fight back. Ms Jennifer Musisi tried to fight me but I fought back and won that battle,” Mr Lukwago warned.

Mr Lukwago, who spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, was referring to the 2013 incident where he was impeached over alleged incompetence, and kept out of office until 2016 when he was re-elected.

He noted that his botched impeachment was orchestrated by the State which he claimed rode on the numbers of the then majority National Resistance Movement (NRM) councillors to undermine the will of Kampala voters who had entrusted him with votes.

Though Lukwago finished his second term without interruption, he shocked the audience when he revealed that his relationship with the previous council, which comprised of majority Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) councillors, wasn’t without fault. 

It was shocking because one would have expected the councillors to have a cordial working relationship with Mr Lukwago since he had been so close to FDC’s top party executives and went on to serve as deputy president in the People’s Government, which was formed by former party president Kizza Besigye, before officially joining the party last July.

By sounding a stern warning to the NUP councillors, Mr Lukwago perhaps wanted to assure them that he was aware of the tricks which the new political leaders could use to frustrate him and was ready to tackle any eventualities head-on.

NUP councillors, who looked baffled by Mr Lukwago’s remarks, could be seen whispering to each other.
With the change in mood, it was clear that the two parties, unless they swallow their political egos and engage in a marriage of convenience with a sole aim of serving Kampala people, are likely to clash during the course of their tenure at City Hall.

“I am the most amiable person and gentleman, but if you tackle me the wrong way, I can also fight back. Let’s not go into rough play but respect one another. Don’t think of enriching yourselves overnight,” Mr Lukwago warned. 

Composition
Out of the 54 councillors in the new council, NUP has 43 while FDC, which Mr Lukwago subscribes to, has only three councillors. 

The other eight councillors representing Special Interest Groups (SIGS) belong to the NRM. They represent the youth, elderly, workers, and People with Disabilities (PwDs).

Whereas professional bodies (lawyers, engineers, doctors and architects) had representatives in the KCCA Council, the KCCA Amendment Act, 2019, scrapped those positions.

The previous KCCA council had 37 councillors. Of those, FDC had the majority with 18 while NRM had 11, the Democratic Party (DP) two, Independents two and professional bodies four. 

However, the Electoral Commision (EC) created new constituencies in the city before the 2021 election, hence the increase in the number of councillors.

Only four councillors from the previous council retained their seats. They include Ms Doreen Nyanjura (FDC) from Makerere University, Ms Faridah Nakabugo (NUP, formerly FDC) from Rubaga South, Mr Moses Katabu (NUP, formerly DP) and Ms Olive Namazzi (FDC) from Nakawa A, but formerly from Kyambogo University. 

With this composition, Ms Zahra Luyirika Malaa (female councillor, Makindye West) and Mr Mansoor Masaba (male councillor representing Najjanankumbi I and II) were last week elected KCCA’s speaker and deputy respectively on NUP ticket.

This implies that KCCA’s council, which is the authority’s decision making body, will be controlled by NUP.

The new speaker, Ms Luyirika, was among the councillors who reportedly led the impeachment of Mr Lukwago in 2013.
However, sources from Mr Lukwago’s team told Sunday Monitor that Ms Luyirika in 2018 apologised to Mr Lukwago, a gesture he welcomed.

According to our sources, Mr Lukwago, despite being FDC, supported Ms Luyirika’s speakership candidature.
Ahead of the elections last week, Ms Luyirika visited all the three FDC councillors to seek their vote. From the results, it was clear that the three councillors voted for her.

Speaking to journalists shortly after being sworn in as speaker, Ms Luyirika said her leadership would be anchored on service delivery, saying elected leaders at City Hall should focus on working for the people instead of politicking.
She said she will work towards bridging the gap between the political wing and the technical wing whose relationship over the years has been fragile.

“People elected us so that we can serve them and it would be unfair if we deviated from that promises we made to them. Therefore, we need to work as a team so that we can fulfil that agenda,” she said.
Asked about her relationship with the Lord Mayor, Ms Luyirika said it is “good”.

The roles
Unlike the previous terms where the Lord Mayor was speaker and chairperson to council, the KCCA Amendment Act, 2019, provided for adjustments in the roles of both the technical and political wings at City Hall.

For instance, it created the office of speaker and deputy speaker, who are elected from among councillors by secret ballot.
The speaker is also charged with the overall authority for preservation of order in council and ensuring enforcement of rules of procedures of council.

The speaker will also preside over sittings of the business committee. The business committee is supposed to generate business for the council and arrange business of each meeting and the order in which it has to be taken.

Apart from the speaker, other members of business committee include the deputy speaker, vice chairperson of the executive and the chairpersons of the KCCA standing committees.

According to the Act, the Lord Mayor is the political head of the city while KCCA executive director is the head of the technocrats.

The new law also created the executive, which is headed by the Lord Mayor. The executive is supposed to perform executive functions of council. 

The executive consists of the Lord Mayor as the chairperson, the deputy Lord Mayor and other three members. The executive members (ministers) are appointed by Lord Mayor from among the members of council. 

The ministerial dockets are finance and administration, health, education and sports, works and physical planning, and gender and community services.

According to section 14(b) of the Act, the executive shall ensure implementation of council programmes and decisions, monitor sector performance and report to council and present sector annual budget of the authority to council.

The NUP factor
Mr Hakim Kizza, the councillor representing Lubaga North II (NUP) says, whereas the Lord Mayor appoints the executive, the role of council cannot be underestimated because it plays an oversight role.

However, he says both the Lord Mayor and NUP councillors need to work together because they are all from the Opposition.

“We believe in the Lord Mayor because he has been in the struggle and his contribution towards rule of law can’t be underestimated. However, politics is about numbers and NUP has numbers. We shall do our legislative role as council and wait for the executive to implement our resolutions because the law is very clear on who does what,” he says.

He agrees with Mr Lukwago that the city needs more funding, but says both stakeholders need to lobby from the respective agencies to ensure that the city gets appropriate budget.

But some NUP councillors who preferred not to be named in order to speak freely said while Mr Lukwago is the Lord Mayor and political head of the city, he should not be seen to suffocate council business by dictating on what should be done.

This, the councillors argue, might trigger tension between council and the executive.

“Let him be humble and not assume that he knows it all because we are all Opposition leaders at City Hall with one agenda of serving the people of Kampala and dislodging President Museveni’s regime. Just like he mentioned during swearing-in, we shall respect him if he respects us too,” one councillor said.

The executive will also assist the Lord Mayor in the performance of his functions which, among others, include initiating strategies for the development of the city.

But the executive director and all the technical staff of KCCA will work as a technical support to the executive and will be required to implement the executive’s decisions. This means that the technical staff will now be part of the executive.

However, the executive can reject decisions made by council if at all they are not aligned with the development agenda of the city. 

Under such circumstances, clashes could erupt if both parties cannot find a common ground as far as planning for the city is concerned.

This will require the speaker to meticulously guide the house and ensure that for whatever resolutions council makes, they meet the demands of the executive.

The roles of council include, among others, determining taxation levels within the capital city, enacting subsidiary legislation for the proper management of the city, reviewing and approving budget proposals made by the executive director, and monitoring delivery of services and mobilising city residents to undertake income generating services.

Coalition 
Prof Sabiti Makara, a Political Science lecturer at Makerere University, says both the FDC and NUP at City Hall need a coalition government since they do not have major ideological differences.

The coalition, Prof Makara argues, would clearly outline their political plan for the city and how they can consolidate on the numbers they already have to remain relevant and also serve the people of Kampala.

“Secondly, since most of them are from the Opposition, they should work to excel so that next time they are elected because they stand to lose if they don’t perform. They now have power and resources from government and should now prove that they are in position to perform in areas which are controlled by government and this should be a compelling force for them,’’ he says.

In his inaugural speech, Mr Lukwago said he would focus on six pillars that he thinks will transform the city.

These include corporate governance and rule of law, proper planning and sustainable transformation, accountability and transparency, equity and social justice, prioritisation in the budgeting process, and promoting Kampala as a hub for investment and tourism. 

But for him to achieve this, he will need to work with both council and the technical team.
But one of the issues that both the political and technical wing at City Hall continues to face is budgetary deficit. 

For instance, it is the responsibility of all stakeholders at City Hall to be involved in the budgetary processes and if the other party feels alienated from the process, clashes could ensue.

With the appointment of executive members pending, NUP councillors also expect the Lord Mayor to appoint some councillors from their party.

In the previous cabinet, Mr Lukwago appointed three FDC councillors and one from DP. One of the FDC councillors lost while the DP councillors crossed over to NUP and returned to City Hall.

According to NUP councillors, the Lord Mayor shouldn’t look at them as a threat, but rather co-opt them in the system since they are all Opposition.

But people we spoke to inside Mr Lukwago’s camp argue that the Lord Mayor is so calculative on who to bring close to avoid previous betrayal. 

“Of course, there are some cool-headed councillors and senior for that matter who could make good cabinet ministers irrespective of being from NUP. It’s most likely that the Lord Mayor could pick one or two,” a source said.

Unlike the previous terms where Mr Lukwago severally clashed with former executive director Jennifer Musisi, sources at City Hall say the new executive director, Ms Dorothy Kisaka, and her deputy David Luyimbazi haven’t had any clashes with the political leaders at city Hall.

The trio, our sources say, have had several engagements with a sole target of working for the people of Kampala. 
The cordial relationship, our sources say, could lead to proper management of the city.

When asked about the new leadership at City Hall, KCCA’s head of public and corporate affairs, Mr Daniel NuweAbine, said the new law specifies the roles of each person and there shouldn’t be any clashes.

“The new law is in place and we have to work as a team to ensure that we deliver services to Kampala people. Previously, people had complaints about the old law, saying it had overlapping roles. But we strongly believe that the new law will enable both teams at City Hall to operate smoothly,” he says.

Asked how the political leaders can work with other players at City Hall, Prof Makara says the Lord Mayor is a man who wants everyone on board as long as aspects of transparency and accountability are not compromised.

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