The Kampala Capital City Authority has announced sweeping reforms aimed at restoring trade order, improving infrastructure, strengthening urban management, and transforming Kampala into a cleaner, safer, and more organized city.
Speaking during a press briefing at the Uganda Media Centre on Wednesday, KCCA Executive Director Sharifah Buzeki said the Authority is implementing coordinated interventions focused on trade regulation, infrastructure rehabilitation, environmental management, transport reforms, and urban compliance enforcement.
The initiatives, she said, are guided by the mandate of KCCA under the Kampala Capital City Act, 2010, which requires the Authority to regulate, plan, and maintain a clean, safe, and well-organized capital city.
Buzeki said KCCA’s ongoing enforcement operations, which followed a government directive issued on February 5, 2026, and enforced beginning February 19, 2026, have significantly improved order and functionality across Kampala.
According to KCCA, the operations have resulted in the removal of illegal obstructions, restoration of pedestrian walkways, improved road access, and rehabilitation of public spaces.
Major business areas across the five city divisions have reportedly been cleared of illegal vending and irregular structures. Areas within the Central Business District, including Luwum Street, Namirembe Road, Ben Kiwanuka Street, Nakivubo Road, and Allen Road, were highlighted as now being relatively orderly.
KCCA also reported progress in trading centres across the city, including Kalerwe-Bwaise in Kawempe Division; Kibuye, Kansanga, Kabalagala, Bunga, and Munyonyo in Makindye Division; Busega, Natete, Kabuusu, and Ndeeba in Lubaga Division; as well as Ntinda, Kiwatule, and Luzira in Nakawa Division.
The Authority said roads are being remarked and repainted, drainage systems repaired and desilted, manholes resealed, streetlights restored, and green spaces rehabilitated.
KCCA noted that these interventions are already improving mobility, reducing congestion, and enhancing safety for road users.
The Authority also reported a sharp increase in business and local revenue collection.
Between February 19 and April 27, 2026, KCCA registered 22,909 new business licenses worth Shs5.07 billion, compared to 15,628 licenses worth Shs3.9 billion registered during the same period beginning December 2025.
KCCA described the 146 percent increase as evidence of growing business formalization and improved revenue mobilization.
Buzeki revealed that KCCA has constituted a dedicated team to engage property owners and managers with outstanding arrears and warned that enforcement measures permitted under the law would be applied where necessary.
“These resources are critical for sustaining service delivery and advancing city development,” she said, urging defaulters to clear their accounts promptly to avoid penalties and enforcement action.
KCCA further disclosed that concerns surrounding trade order enforcement operations were recently presented to Cabinet on April 27, 2026, where government reaffirmed that the measures are “non-negotiable” and must continue.
The Authority stressed that all traders must operate strictly within gazetted markets, arcades, and designated trading areas.
“Any return to illegal street vending or encroachment on public spaces will be addressed firmly in accordance with the law,” Buzeki warned.
KCCA added that it continues to support traders through structured alternatives, noting that thousands of trading spaces have been created in both public and private markets.
Out of the 2,520 workspaces announced in November 2025, 1,663 are already occupied, leaving 857 spaces available as of April 30, 2026.
The Authority also noted that unused workspaces, including 107 spaces in Busega Market that have remained vacant for more than 90 days, are being reallocated under the Markets Act, 2023.
In another major development, KCCA announced that beginning June 1, 2026, enforcement of urban frontage improvement and compliance standards will commence across the city.
Property owners, developers, and business operators have been directed to maintain their frontages through paving, painting, greening, cleanliness, and avoiding encroachment on road reserves and environmentally sensitive areas.
Buzeki emphasized that the directive is mandatory under Section 57 of the Physical Planning (Amendment) Act, 2020.
The law criminalizes failure to paint buildings, failure to provide litter bins, littering public spaces, failure to display street signage, obstruction of enforcement officers, and continued misuse of spaces in ways that undermine proper physical planning.
KCCA also cited illegal developments in road reserves under the Roads Act, 2019, as well as construction in environmentally sensitive areas regulated under provisions enforced by the National Environment Management Authority.
Failure to comply, the Authority warned, may result in fines, imprisonment, closure of premises, or other lawful enforcement measures.
“This initiative aims to restore pride, dignity, and shared responsibility in Kampala,” Buzeki said.
In a major transport reform, KCCA announced that government has authorized Kiira Motors Corporation to begin operating electric buses within Kampala under a pilot project intended to improve urban mobility.
The electric buses are currently undergoing road testing ahead of deployment along two circular routes by the end of May 2026.
The pilot project will involve eight electric buses operating along routes connecting Constitutional Square, Lugogo, Nakawa, Ntinda-Bukoto, Kamwokya, and Wandegeya before returning to Constitutional Square. A second route will begin from Mabirizi and operate in reverse order.
KCCA said the initiative is expected to improve connectivity, reduce traffic congestion, and enhance air quality through sustainable public transport.
The Authority also reiterated ongoing reforms targeting boda boda and taxi operations.
Boda boda riders are being formalized through designated stages, rider registration, and enforcement of approved operating points, while taxis are being directed to use gazetted parks and terminals instead of roadside stages.
KCCA urged the Uganda Taxi Operators Federation and other transport operators to embrace mass transit reforms, describing public transportation as “the future of a cleaner, safer, and more livable Kampala.”
The Authority further announced that it is strengthening enforcement of environmental and noise pollution standards in collaboration with NEMA.
According to KCCA, noise levels in busy urban areas must not exceed 75 decibels during daytime hours and 50 decibels at night, while residential areas are subject to even stricter limits.
Businesses and entertainment venues that violate the standards risk revocation of their operating licenses.
KCCA also provided an update on efforts to rescue unattended children from city streets.
Over the last three months, the Authority said it has rescued 365 children, including 163 boys and 202 girls, and transferred them to Masulita Children’s Home for family tracing, counselling, treatment, skills training, school enrolment, and community reintegration.
Some of the children reportedly received antenatal care due to early pregnancies.
KCCA said 193 of the children were later transferred to Napak District, where 183 were enrolled at Ladoi Primary School.
Additionally, 12 parents — including 10 women and two men — have been presented before court over alleged negligence.
The Authority advised the public against giving money or handouts to street children, warning that such practices sustain unsafe street life and expose children to exploitation and abuse.
Caretakers were also urged to avoid bringing sick individuals onto the streets and instead seek treatment from government health facilities.
Among the latest infrastructure developments, KCCA announced the groundbreaking of a 9.1-kilometre road project connecting Mpererwe through Kiteezi to Kiti.
The project is funded by the African Development Bank and is being implemented by China Communication Construction Company, with MBW Consulting Engineers serving as supervising consultants.
KCCA said the road project is expected to improve mobility and livelihoods in the area and is scheduled for completion within 18 months.
Buzeki said the broader interventions reflect KCCA’s long-term vision of transforming Kampala into a vibrant, attractive, livable, and sustainable city founded on responsibility, compliance, and shared urban standards.
