Eng. Mutabazi calls for revision in Kampala city plan

By Alice Lubwama

Poor drainage systems, lack of job opportunities and politicking have been named as some of the major challenges that have seriously affected the development of Kampala as a city.

Now, urban planner from the Uganda road sector support initiative, Sam Mutabazi proposes that the Kampala Capital City Authority act be amended to give more powers to the technocrats , who will plan and transform the city, he adds that the  authorities should  discourage people from trading in places which are not planned because this has created disorder in the city.

“If you ask the mayor the key issues of the city he will say something different, today the president is talking about people not voting for him, but we need to sit together  to discuss and come close to know the biggest issues and how to deal with them.” Mutabazi said.

Mutabazi also notes  that   Kampala‘s first plan  was done in early 50’s and the population by then  was about 100,000 people but since then there has been several plans which have not been fully implemented.

"There has been population explosion in the city without corresponding to the infrastructures, for the growing population to converge in the city with limited infrastructure it puts a lot of strain on the city.’’ Mutabazi added

Engineer Mutabazi said that government should be serious and come up with policies that will insure that people who come to town get job opportunities, warning that if it is not done, the crime rate will rise.

He made these comments as the country joined the the World Cities Day was declared by United Nations to make the world aware that cities are important pillars of human development because

they are engineers of growth.

The overall World Cities Day theme is “Better City, Better Life” and this year’s particular theme is “Building Sustainable and Resilient Cities”.

Cities need support to become resilient and develop their capacity to absorb the impact of hazards, protect and preserve human life and limit damage to and destruction of public and private assets while

continuing to provide infrastructure and services after a crisis.

The day comes as Kampala capital city authority is improving on the road net work.

KCCA has upgraded   five major roads in the city   to improve traffic flow through provision of traffic management infrastructure such as guard rails, signs and the improvements in five junctions.