By Vanansio Mbabazi
in Kabale
Residents in Kabale municipality have expressed mixed reactions to
whether Kabale municipality be elevated to city status.
In 2017, Government announced a new policy that will see five of the
current 14 municipalities upgraded to regional cities and others
including Kabale would be considered later. The new regional cities to
be created under the new urban policy include Jinja, Mbale, Arua,
Mbarara and Gulu.
Government, working together with the World Bank, has injected
Shs448.8 trillion to train local governments in the proposed
municipalities to prepare them to become regional cities
The Team leader of Let Us Save Uganda-LUSU Simon Byamukama says
elevating Kabale to city status is overdue. Byamukama says that some
of the areas in Kabale are endowed with good topography, tourism
attractions, which will generate income.
Byamukama however says that the overdue is due to Kabale inborn who
have refused to invest in their town due to religious and political
differences. He however calling on the authorities to ensure steady
power supply for factories to startup, tarmac more roads, improve on
security among others for a city to be meaningful.
The LCI chairperson of Igabiro cell Mwanjari ward in Kabale
Municipality Athanasius Mujasi, blames the leaders for putting their
personal ambitions ahead of the people’s needs. He says the elevation
of Kabale to a city status will mainly benefit politicians with the
creation of new administrative divisions in the new city.
Mujasi says there is need to first develop the road infrastructure,
construct more health facilities and improve water access, improve on
sewer lines, drainage systems before dreaming about the area being
elevated to city status.
The Kabale municipality mayoral elect Sentaro Byamugisha says that the
conditions required for a town to get a city status include having the
capacity to meet the cost of service delivery, enough water sources
construction of city roads, garbage collection, gazetting more areas
and a master plan which they are planning to implement to attain the
status