What became of Masaka City’s plan to change face?

When Masaka was officially declared a city in July 2020, the then interim administration led by the mayor, Mr Godfrey Kayemba Afaayo, unveiled an ambitious 100-day meticulous plan to change the face of Masaka to suit its new status.

City leaders listed key priority areas to be considered which included improving the road network to first class gravel, planting more than 2,000 trees in all road reserves and parts of new Nyendo/Mukungwe Municipality and reviewing the designed new city structure and physical plan.

The city interim administration had also promised to light the entire city with solar-powered street lights in the first 100 days, build a monument at the main gateway to Masaka City and erect billboards at various entry and exit points like other new cities have done.

They would also compel all landlords in the city to put concrete pavers at entrances of their buildings as one way of reducing dust in the city.

However, nearly two years later, the 100-day plan remains on paper.

Only a few solar lights have been installed in some areas annexed to the new city.

Not ready

Mr Vincent Kasumba, the president of Masaka City Development Forum, said failure to fully implement the 100-day plan is a clear manifestation that Masaka was not ready for city status.

HERE: Masaka City leaders unveil 100-day plan

“The city authorities have instead come up with a raft of new taxes and doubling the ones that have been in place. But to our dismay, service delivery has remained poor,” he said in an interview on Monday.

The current leadership in the city has also denied knowledge of the plan. 

The Masaka City Clerk, Mr  Godfrey Bemanyisa, however, said he was not aware of the 100-day plan, adding that it could have been ‘mere political statements’ made by politicians in the run up to the 2021 General Election. 

“I am wondering where a new city like Masaka would have got money to implement all that in 100 days,” he said.   

Ms Florence Namayanja, the Masaka City mayor, said by the time she assumed office in May last year, the first 100- day deadline had elapsed and her predecessor never mentioned it in his handover report. 

“I am hearing about that [100-day plan] from you, the journalists,” she said.

When contacted, Mr Kayemba said although his leadership did not beat the 100-day target, he left most of the plans in the pipeline for the incoming leadership to implement. 

“We had set the agenda for Masaka to suit its new status and that is why we set deadlines for certain projects, since we were leaving office. We thought that the new leadership will build on that and finalise what we started, but I do not know why they have not done so,” he said.

READ: Masaka City starts levying park fees

However, Ms Namayanja said she will inquire about the said plan and see how it can be reviewed for effective implementation.

On her part, Ms Namayanja, who will  mark a year in office on May 18, won the hearts of Masaka City voters on the promise of unlocking Masaka’s potential through education, tourism, health and waste management. 

She had designated every last Saturday of the month as Bulungi Bwansi Day (communal service) to improve sanitation standards in the city, but this only worked for a few months.

In January, city authorities hired private garbage collectors, who started levying a fee ranging between Shs500 and Shs1,000 depending on the volume of garbage generated by city dwellers, but residents claim the levy has not been approved by the city council.

The decision to privatise solid waste management was reached following the chronic failure by the city to effectively do the work due to dwindling local revenue collection yet this component alone is costing them 46 percent of their total budget.

Increasing revenue collection and mobilisation is another core value that Ms Namayanja’s leadership promised, through establishment of a consistent and up to date database in all revenue collection areas.

“I think it is unfair to assess me now. One year is a short period to know whether I have achieved my goals or not. Please give time,” she said.

Background

Masaka is one of the 10 municipalities that were upgraded to cities effective July 2020. Others are Arua, Gulu, Jinja, Fort Portal, Mbarara, Hoima, Mbale, Soroti, and Lira. 

READ: Masaka authorities re-open roads turned into plots

Masaka is one of the oldest urban units in Uganda. It became a township in 1953, a town council in 1958, and later elevated to a municipality in 1968.

According to the government’s earlier plan, Masaka was to be considered in 2023 in the fourth phase of creating new cities together with other towns such as Nakasongola, Moroto, Wakiso, and Soroti, but it was later approved after the intervention of Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II.

Other issues which were outlined in the 100–day plan     

• Opening up a new 25km gravel road network in areas annexed to city

• Rebranding Masaka City (which will involve redesigning it’s the 60-year-old logo, ceremonial robes for political leaders and staff corporate uniforms)

• Opening city boundaries, planting mark stones and releasing new city map

• Unveiling the revised structural and physical plans.

• Erecting monuments and big bill boards at strategic entry points of the city.

• Renaming city streets with colonial names.

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