The newly elected leadership of Fort Portal City has pledged to restore the city’s cleanliness, strengthen tourism promotion, and improve service delivery as they take office. The leaders made the remarks while swearing in at Boma grounds in Fort Portal City on Friday.
The swearing ceremony was presided over by Jackline Ann Namazzi, the Fort Portal Chief Magistrate. Speaking during the ceremony, Fort Portal City Clerk Ambrose Ocen said the city’s performance has improved significantly, noting that the city is now ranked 53rd from 100 among the best-performing local governments in the country, attributing the improvement to teamwork between political and technical leaders.
Ocen asked the new political leadership to work closely with the technical staff, just as the previous administration had done. “The former mayor worked well with the technical team, and we expect the same cooperation from the new leadership through consultation, support, and encouragement,” Ocen said.
After taking the oath, the new Fort Portal City Mayor, Rev. Willy Kintu Muhanga, said his administration will focus on restoring the city’s image as a tourism and clean city.
Rev. Muhanga noted that since Fort Portal Municipality was elevated to city status in July 2020, there has been a need to improve cleanliness, beautification, and tourism promotion.
He pledged to restore Fort Portal’s glory as one of the cleanest cities in Uganda and warned against indiscriminate garbage dumping in streets and public spaces.
“We are going to ensure that garbage is collected regularly. Council will work towards acquiring enough garbage trucks to collect waste at least twice a week and transport it to the Kitere composting site,” Muhanga said.
The mayor also revealed plans to lobby the government to establish offices of the Uganda Tourism Board or the Ministry of Tourism in Fort Portal as a way of strengthening tourism promotion in the region.
He assured residents of improved infrastructure, better social services, and pledged to work closely with communities.
Arthur Ngabwa, the new youth councilor for Fort Portal Central Division, said he will advocate for greater youth inclusion in government development programs to address unemployment.
According to Ngabwa, many young people in Fort Portal have failed to benefit from government programs due to a lack of information and organization.
“As a tourism city, we need more tourism-related events that directly involve and benefit the youth,” he said.
Shamim Kabasinguzi, the female councilor of Fort Portal City, said residents should expect fundamental changes in leadership and service delivery during the new term.
Patrick Kasoro, a resident of Fort Portal, asked the new administration to revive the city’s cleanliness and strengthen tourism promotion. “The city has become a shadow of its former self, with many streets littered with garbage,” Kasoro said. He added that promoting tourism would help local communities benefit economically from the sector.
Sharon Basemera asked leaders to regularly return to communities and consult residents on key issues affecting them. She asked the leaders to cooperate so that they could work for the development of the people.
Richard Kademo, a local pastor, urged the new leaders to fight corruption and fulfill the promises they made during the election campaigns. Fort Portal City Council is made up of 16 councilors who will serve up to 2031-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
