Jinja City registers successes amid challenges two years on

Two years since Jinja Town was elevated to city status, it has registered some successes, as well as challenges that call for government’s urgent attention. 
When towns are elevated to city status, there are high hopes that such a development, among others, results in more funding from the central government, improved infrastructure and that the city is independent and able to generate sufficient funds to sustain its operations.
Some of the achievements registered so far include the strict trade order that has seen all vendors off the streets as a way of having a smart and well organised city.
Taxi drivers, on the other hand, are excited by the removal of ungazetted stages on all the streets.
The city last month embarked on an operation which has seen all passenger vehicles that were holding up traffic removed. 
Mr Peter Kasolo, the Jinja City mayor, said the operation is aimed at creating order in the city.
Subsequently, Mr Paphras Kabugudho, the secretary of Jinja Taxi Operators Association, said they now have an orderly management in public transport.
“We appreciate this order because it is the first of its kind. Forcing all the taxis to operate within the (taxi) park has improved control of drivers,” he said in an interview on Monday.
Mr Kabugudho added that because of the operation, the number of taxis operating in the park daily has increased from 100 to 200.
The development, Mr Kabugudho adds, will also make it easy for the taxi drivers to pay the annual park user fees of Shs72,000, whose payment was being evaded by several drivers who were operating from illegal stages.
Initially, Jinja streets were always congested with vendors operating from the streets. Buyers and sellers would also load and offload their merchandise from the streets but this is no more.
“Business owners are now enjoying profits because all businesses have been directed into gazetted areas,” he said.
The new status has come with infrastructural developments, according to the mayor.
“Modern high-rise buildings have been constructed in the city in the last two years since our traders are now more organised,” Mayor Kasolo said.
Mr Kasolo observed that some roads have been constructed, resulting in easy transportation of goods and services, hence boosting trade.
 The city currently operates a Shs52b budget, 70 percent of which is funded by the government.
Due to improved infrastructural development, according to the mayor, higher institutions of learning like Makerere University are seeking land to put up permanent structures in the city.
“We are in the process of giving Makerere University land in Budondo Ward in Jinja Northern Division to construct a permanent campus to offer quality education to our learners,” Mr Kasolo said.
Mr v the city principal commercial officer, said there has been an increase in taxable businesses, thereby improving the city’s revenue and thus enhanced service delivery.
“We have seen taxable businesses increasing from 5,300 to more than 8,000 and this means we are able to generate income to deliver good services that people in the city are enjoying,” Mr Kuboyo said.
Weighing in on the successes, the Uganda Chamber of Commerce, Jinja branch coordinator, Mr Moses Mulondo, said industrialisation has been boosted with new factories coming up.
“Industrialisation is at 95 percent, which is good because Jinja is meant to be the country’s industrial hub. This has increased job opportunities,” Mr Mulondo said.
More tourists are getting attracted into the city, Mr Benjamin Isabirye, the general secretary of Jinja City Development Forum, a community platform, said.
“Hotels have expanded their structures because of the many tourists now entering the city on a daily basis,’’ he said.
Mr James Mudiba, a resident of Main Street in Jinja City, said they are happy that many roads have been renovated, which has improved service delivery.
 “Roads like Nalufenya Clive Road West, Main Street, Eng Dhikusooka have been worked on. Clive Road East and Bella Avenue are also being constructed,” he said.
Ms Fiona Mbeiza, the manager of John Speke Canteen at the Source of River Nile, said she is enjoying a lot of business opportunities because of numerous events that have come in the area since it was elevated to city status.
Ms Mbeiza cited the recent ‘Vumbula’, a social event that took place at the Source of River Nile, where revellers spent two days entertaining themselves in the area.
“I can’t mention how much money I got but the truth is, my income more than doubled,” she said.
The Jinja election officer, Ms Assey Nekesa, said all elective positions created in the city have been occupied.
“In the city every position of leadership was filled during the general elections of 2021 so political offices are working as expected,” Ms Nekesa said.
Challenges
However, despite all the success, the Jinja North Division mayor, Mr Ayubu Wabika, said the city is still locked in boundary fights.
“The fights over the boundaries between the city and the district are a big challenge. We have agreed that both the city clerk and the Jinja chief administrative officer convene a meeting to resolve it,” he said.
There is also contestation on ownership of Bususwa Falls located at the boundaries of Budondo Ward in Jinja City and Butagaya Sub-county in Jinja District.
Access to clean water too remains a hurdle.
“People in some of the villages in my division expected to have access to piped water but they still draw water from wells,” Mr Wabika said.
The Jinja City senior physical planner, Mr Charles Nampendho, said implementation of the physical plans has not taken shape.
Some markets and taxis and industrial parks have not been constructed as per the physical plans due to financial constraints.
Some parts of the city lack street lights, hence providing a fertile ground for criminals.
Ms Aisha Namawejje, a tenant and business woman, said rent fees for commercial buildings have increased in the last two years.
“People [landlords] are claiming that ground rent has increased because of the city status, which has affected us in business,” she said.
Ms Justine Nabirye, a boutique owner on Lubas Road, said most of the old buildings in the city are being demolished, which has affected them in terms of customer inflow.
“My customers were used to the previous location but after the demolition of the building where I was operating, I lost many of my clients. Renting old buildings is no longer safe for us because any time, the council is demolishing them because of the city status,” she said.
Way forward
The Jinja City Woman Member of Parliament, Ms Manjeri Kyebakutika, said the government must put more emphasis on the road network in Jinja, especially those that connect to tourism sites.
Ms Kyebakutika said local governments should be given a chance to manage local revenue rather than sending it to the central government that allocates it.
About Jinja city
In July 2020, Jinja was elevated to a city status and as part of the qualifications to become a city , it expanded to include the former Jinja Municipality, Bugembe Town Council, Mafubira Sub-county and Budondo Sub-county.
Jinja City is located in Busoga sub-region, in the eastern region of Uganda. It is approximately 81kms by road, east of Kampala, the capital and largest city of Uganda.
It sits along the northern shores of Lake Victoria, near the Source of the Nile. The city sits at an average elevation of 1,204 metres (3,950 ft) above sea level.
By Tausi Nakato, Abubaker Kirunda & Denis Edema