Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago has revealed that Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) plans to create an urban forest reserve to promote climate resilience.
Lukwago made the revelation as KCCA joined the rest of the world to mark World Cities Day.
He explained that there are already ordinances in place to help implement and protect urban forests.
World Cities Day designated by the UN in 2013 is among other things, to promote the international community’s interest in global urbanisation, push forward collaboration of cities to address common challenges and share good practices and opportunities with a view of realising the ideals of SDG 11.
According to Lukwago, there is a need to reflect on success stories of other cities such as Dubai which metamorphosed from a desolate desert village into a modern metropolis in a space of less than three decades.
“The magic wand is simple: political will, clear policy direction and adequate resource allocation. For example, Johannesburg has got an annual budget of over $4bn, Nairobi over $400m and Kampala is roughly $170 inclusive of all the donor-funded projects,” he said.
Lukwago said that the KCCA grandiose five-year development plan 2021-2025 requires an annual budget of Shs 1.5 trillion but under the current budget framework paper the budget is just Shs 441 billion yet 70% of the revenues is generated from Kampala.
“We need to have an honest conversation over these pertinent issues if we are to build a city befitting the pearl of Africa. Kampala being the capital city, should have a special budget. There is no shortcut about that. We have a strategic plan which is anchored on NDP III and Vision 2040. We have a vision of building an attractive and vibrant city by 2025. To realize this dream, there must be massive investment,” Lukwago said.
Emmanuel Sserunjogi, the mayor of Kawempe division, said that as a country we have very good laws which are not implemented.
He said that the responsibility for managing climate change does not only lie in the hands of the leaders but also the residents.
