Residents speak out on Jinja city

With July now in plain sight and the euphoria steadily building up to the elevation of Jinja Town to a city status, residents have spoken out on the city they want.

Mr Samuel Ngobi, a businessman in Jinja Town, on Monday said old buildings should be demolished, especially those under the Departed Asians’ Custodian Board.
“The dilapidated buildings need to be demolished before Jinja city kicks off. The buildings are in sorry state and those occupying them don’t bother with any renovation,’’ he said.

The vice president of Jinja Municipality Development Forum, a community platform, Mr Joseph Sserunjogi, said Jinja is not prepared enough for a city status.

“What have we put in place as Jinja? Stakeholders are not organised, they lack sensitisation and it is as if the municipal council has just woken up and was told to dress up, yet we are left with a few months to start operating as a city,” he said.

Ms Jenifer Naigaga, a resident of Jinja, said leaders should first consider the issue of putting lights on all the streets to curb insecurity.

“Some of the streets are very dark at night, which has increased cases of robbery and murder. If street lights are installed on all roads, it will beautify our city,” she said, adding that the issue of garbage collection also needs to be seriously addressed.

The commissioner of Urban Development in the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mr Joseph Walter Pade, said they will use the 2017 National Urban Policy to create liveable and productive cities in the country.

“The policy provides a framework for overall urban management, governance and development and we expect all stakeholders to play a key role in the implementation of this policy, including the Uganda National Urban Forum, municipal development forums, government ministries, departments and agencies, civil society, private sector, religious and cultural institutions.

“We are looking at the aspect of urban development as a collective responsibility,” he said.

The country representative of Cities Alliance Uganda, Mr Samuel Mabala, said they have allocated $300,000 (about Shs1.2 billion) grant to the new Jinja City, with an aim of improving the welfare of the people in its slums.
“The project has the component of a community upgrade fund with an aim of improving services like water, sanitation unit, drainage system, and electricity, especially in the slum areas,” he said.

The President of Uganda National Urban Forum, Mr George Aligech Lapir, said all stakeholders should create a positive impact in the new cities.

“We must plan for these cities before they kick off by having all the physical plans in place; where we are going to have the airport, open places, residential areas for all categories, including the middle class, lower class, transport system and commercial areas,” he said.

The Jinja municipality mayor, Mr Majid Batambuze, said they have worked on several roads in conjunction with Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development (USMID) programme as a way of preparing for the city status.

“We have completed the construction of Main Street up to the State Lodge, embarked on the works of Eng Dhikusooka Road, reconstruction of Bell Avenue and we have also labelled all the roads for easy identification,” he said.

Traffic lights
Mr Batambuze said: “We are proposing to introduce traffic lights on Clive Road, Main Street junction, Nile Avenue, Clive Road West, Eng Zikusooka, and Tobacco road.”

Mr Batambuze also said they have resorted to putting solar lighting on all streets and markets because they can not afford the cost of Umeme bills.

Background

In May 20, Cabinet approved the creation of 15 cities, with the five lots, whose operations start in July 2020, comprising Arua, Gulu, Jinja, Fort Portal and Mbarara Municipalities.
The second cohort will consist of Hoima and Mbale, both scheduled to be elevated this year, while Lira and Entebbe will be in the third lot of the elevation.

[email protected]