New municipalities, town councils cripple Wakiso

After Wakiso District councillors moved a motion supporting the creation of new local administrative units, including municipalities and town councils in 2015, the district is crippled by low revenue collection.
Council’s decision was largely informed by the notion that such a move would bring services nearer to the people.
The created administrative units include; three new municipalities of Makindye-Ssabagabo, Nansana and Kira while new town councils include; Kyengera, Kasanje, Kakiri, Namayumba, Kajjansi, Wakiso, Masuliita and Katabi.

The created municipalities and town councils control their own budgets and are self-accounting, which means the district has little say about their operations.
Following the creation of the new units, Wakiso District was left with only six rural sub- counties of Mende, Bussi, Wakiso, Masuliita, Ssisa, and Namayumba which lack viable sources of revenue to support the district budget.

While fronting the proposal to create new municipalities and town councils in a council meeting that convened on May 7, 2015, the district authorities were desirous of seeing Wakiso becoming a city, a dream that has not yet been achieved.
The proposal then was that the new municipalities and town councils remit 20 per cent of their collected revenues, but this has not materialised yet as Parliament has not enacted a law that gives Wakiso District a special status.

“We have written letters requesting for a special status, but our pleas have not yet been answered. A special status would enable us get special treatment in terms of financing and management of affairs,” Mr Simon Nsubuga, the district speaker said in an interview on Wednesday.
Mr Nsubuga says currently, urban councils do not remit any monies to the district and they rely on what is collected by sub-counties which also lack reliable sources of revenue to support the district budget.
“In the entire financial year, only Shs500m (about 30 percent of total revenue collections) is sent to the district and all of it caters for the emoluments and other operations of the council. We have written to Ministry of Local Government and Parliament to allow us utilise 20 per cent of revenue generated from town councils and municipalities but we are yet to receive response,” Mr Nsubuga says.

Ms Betty Naluyima, the district deputy chairperson acknowledges that there is a decline in revenue collection as a result of the creation of new different lower local governments.
“We will absorb that. Our core desire is to achieve a city status. Issues of revenue will be handled when we are elevated,” Ms Naluyima stresses.
In the wake of meager resources, the district has found itself in a fix to implement critical infrastructure projects like roads, health care, education among others.

In a letter seen by this newspaper, Wakiso District Chief Administrative Officer, Mr Luke Lokuda on November 3, wrote to the Kampala Capital City Authority Executive Director, Ms Jennifer Musisi, asking her to ‘donate’ Old Street lighting poles that KCCA has replaced on city roads.
“It is my humble request that you consider donating some of these street lighting poles to Wakiso so that we can start imitating the city status in the GMKA (Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area) programmes by lighting some Trading centres along the upgraded roads,” Mr Lukoda wrote.
Some of the paved new roads where Wakiso District administrators want to install the lights include; Nebalamye Mayanja that runs from Seguku along Kampala-Entebbe highway to Kings College, Budo and Namasuba-Ndejje Road.
These are currently under construction by Abu Baker Technical Services Limited.

KCCA spokesperson, Mr Peter Kaujju, confirms that they had received a letter from Wakiso requesting for the old street light poles KCCA is not using and the line directorate will soon look into the matter.
The district chairperson, Mr Matia Lwanga Bwanika, says due to a meager resource envelope, they are finding it hard to facilitate the 50 councillors in the created administrative units.

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