New cities require innovative solutions

In 2020, Parliament of Uganda approved the creation of 15 new cities in line with the constitutional provisions on alteration of boundaries.

At the time, the creation of cities was commended as a vital step in urbanisation and development of the country.

Two years later, there was a lack of a clear policy on key issues such as land management and staffing to govern the changes accompanying the newly formed city structures. This is exemplified in the bickering over land, office structures and uncertainty over job positions and descriptions for example over the roles of city mayors and division mayors.

Many areas report problems of insufficient funding as the local government system still dictates that revenue is collected, sent to the centre and then dispatched back to the cities, a less than ideal arrangement. As a result, little change has taken place since the creation of the new cities. City leadership in areas like Masaka is unable to install street lighting or sufficiently manage the rising volumes of garbage.

Quick intervention is required to streamline operations in the new cities along with innovative measures to deliver services effectively and root out chaos. The rules should be clearly defined from the centre but leaving room for creativity and innovation at the city level.

 After ensuring that all the city administrations are operating according to a uniform structure, cities should be allowed legroom to establish partnerships and seek out unique funding opportunities within their locality.

Aware that the cities were created in the shadow of a financial recession due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and with the resulting government inability to provide sufficient funding, we should explore new and unique funding models for our cities such as Public Private Partnerships.  

Making use of the growing number of urban planning professionals, cities can draw plans that could turn out to be profitable. With the heavy initial expenditure on staffing and infrastructure to handle, cities should be granted some autonomy to plan, source and utilise resources otherwise the anticipated growth and development might be a long time coming.

Every city sits in a unique position and has the potential to develop a unique offering that will drive investment and growth. With the iron clad control from the centre, it is going to be hard to realise the benefits anticipated at the creation of the new cities. There is a need to do things differently, for a better result.