Local Council II (LCII) chairpersons and National Resistance Movement (NRM) chairpersons in Kampala have asked the government to provide them with adequate facilitation to effectively monitor government programmes and projects in their respective communities.
The leaders made the appeal at a retreat organised by the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) at Maya in Wakiso district. The meeting brought together LCII and NRM chairpersons from Kampala’s 101 parishes to discuss challenges affecting the communities they represent and explore possible solutions.
Speaking at the retreat, KCCA Executive Director Hajjat Sharifah Buzeki said the parish is a critical administrative unit where planning begins through the collection of issues and concerns raised by residents in different villages.
These concerns are then submitted to parish development committees before being forwarded to the respective divisions for further action.
Buzeki described LCII chairpersons as key grassroots leaders who play an important role in monitoring KCCA and government projects.
She said the engagement is to provide an opportunity to discuss challenges affecting communities and identify ways of addressing them.
However, the LCII chairpersons said that although they are expected to monitor government programmes, including the Parish Development Model (PDM), waste collection and management, and road construction, they lack the financial and logistical support required to carry out their duties effectively.
They explained that moving from one village to another to monitor projects and follow up on government programmes has become difficult, particularly in parishes covering large geographical areas.
Ssemanda Rayan, the LCII chairperson of Kololo III, said several beneficiaries of the PDM programme were struggling to repay the revolving funds they had received.
He noted that KCCA had tasked LCII chairpersons with following up on beneficiaries to ensure that the funds are repaid and made available to other eligible residents.
However, Ssemanda said the exercise requires facilitation to enable the leaders to move around villages, engage beneficiaries and encourage them to repay the loans.
He added that some villages are too large to be covered on foot, calling on the government to provide the necessary support to enable LCII chairpersons to carry out inspections and follow-up activities effectively.
Kato Kaweesa, the LCII chairperson of Bwaise II, said his parish has eight villages, making it difficult for one chairperson to monitor activities across the entire area without adequate facilitation.
On waste management, Kaweesa urged KCCA to engage competent garbage collection companies with sufficient capacity to serve communities across the city.
He said some garbage collection concessionaires lack enough trucks to collect waste effectively, including during the National Cleaning Day activities.
Meanwhile, Kabuye Kyofatogabye, the state minister for Kampala and Metropolitan Affairs, acknowledged that although LCII chairpersons receive some funding, the available resources are insufficient compared with the size of the areas they oversee and the responsibilities they are expected to fulfil.
He said more than 4 billion shillings have been recovered through the PDM programme in Kampala and pledged to raise the concerns of LCII chairpersons with the relevant authorities to explore ways of financing their activities.
Kyofatogabye also urged Kampala residents who have benefited from the PDM revolving funds to avoid conducting business on streets and in unauthorised trading areas.
He warned that beneficiaries would still be affected by KCCA’s enforcement of trade order regulations, despite having received funds through the PDM programme.
The retreat was organised to provide a platform for LCII and NRM chairpersons from Kampala’s parishes to discuss community challenges, strengthen coordination with KCCA and propose practical solutions to improve service delivery and the monitoring of government programmes-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
