Urban authorities urge government to come to their rescue

The Urban Authorities Association of Uganda (UAAU) have called upon the government to cater for road infrastructure, land acquisition, street lighting, drainage and water systems and garbage management among other services.

The call was made by UAAU Chairman and Jinja City Mayor, Majid Batambuze, during UAAU Regional meeting at Colline Hotel, in Mukono district on Thursday.

“This will compliment the little local revenue collected by urban authorities. This will also facilitate urban planning development as opposed to the current unplanned development in most of the mushrooming towns and the recently created secondary Cities”, said Batambuze.

He said currently, nearly 20 percent of Uganda’s population is living in urban areas.

“The  Local Government Act 1997 and its amendments provide that urban authorities shall carry out physical planning, garbage management, street lighting among others but urban councils are not empowered financially to accomplish all these roles and responsibilities”, he added.

In response to these challenges, ministry of Local Government Principal Urban Officer, Julius Masereka, said urban authorities should endeavor to address their complaints to the mother ministry in writing and not through verbal lamentation.

“Local governments should not be lamenters but innovators “, he said.

He said the ministry of Local Government will work with other stakeholders; such as the Ministry of Public Service to make necessary amendments in the Local Government Act, to address various challenges faced by urban authorities.

He also called upon the urban authorities to put signposts on roads leading to their towns to guide visitors and tourists, citing few towns across the country, that have signposts in place.