Be consistent on new cities, towns

On Thursday President Museveni advised the leadership of Nakaseke to expedite the process of elevating Kapeeka Sub-county to a town council or municipality.

Mr Museveni was responding to comments raised by his younger brother, Gen Caleb Akandwanaho, also known as Salim Saleh, who had earlier raised concerns that the sub-county’s status has remained rural and is managed as a rural agricultural area yet it is now home to an industrial park hosting 13 industries offering employment to more than 2,400 people.

The President says elevation of the sub-county will align it its new-found status. Elevation of the sub-county is welcome but the advice is not consistent with our economic realities.

We have a budget deficit of Shs2.5 trillion and despite chest thumping by the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) that it collected much more money in revenue than it had collected before, the tax body registered a Shs500 billion deficit in revenue collection in the first quarter of this financial year.

The alarm bells have been sounding for quite a while now over the huge bill that the country picks in order to maintain a bloated Cabinet, a Parliament of 443 MPs, 122 Resident District Commissioners (RDCs) and 82 Deputy RDCs and 163 Presidential Advisors and Assistants.
Despite the fact that the Ministry of Finance has for more than three years now been warning against the creation of more administrative units, government and Parliament have constantly turned a deaf ear.

The creation of another seven new cities is only being delayed by lack of a quorum in Parliament, but should we be heading in that direction given the existing burden?

Mr Museveni’s advice to the people of Nakaseke is also in conflict with the spirit of a letter that he wrote on November 28 cautioning the Minister of Local Government against creating many administrative units saying, “they are going to become too many and not affordable.”
He advised that the available resources “be concentrated first in maintaining security, building infrastructure and not expanding administrative costs.”

Why then did the President advise the people of Nakaseke to tread a path that he had warned his minister against? It is very important that the message on new administrative units becomes consistent.