By KT Reporter
The physical plan of Kampala can be improved, but the National Planning Authority (NPA) boss has warned that the outcome will not be optimal because of years of unplanned infrastructure development in the city. Appearing before Parliament’s Committee of Lands on Wednesday, NPA Executive Director Joseph Muvawala said the government should first ensure that the country’s 10 newly created cities are backed by detailed physical plans before reorganizing Kampala.
“We have to ensure that there are adequate resources for the new 10 cities countrywide, accompanied by detailed physical plans, then we can come back and reorganize Kampala City,” Muvawala said. He explained that development without physical plans is both costly and disruptive, noting that the Ugandan economy loses an estimated four percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually to traffic congestion.
“The principle of maintaining integrated physical planning should be maintained for the country to have organized cities and towns,” he added. Muvawala emphasized the importance of clarifying the roles of different actors in the planning framework. He proposed that NPA should be responsible for preparing national and regional physical plans, while the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development focuses on regulation and enforcement, and local governments handle supervision at district level.
“Physical planning does not work with politics. Sometimes we hide behind politics to do wrong things. Politics is not our problem, our problem is enforcement. We have good plans but we do not enforce them,” he stressed. His comments followed concerns from MPs over the alarming state of Kampala’s infrastructure.
“The country is a mess right now. Can this wrong be undone? What can we do to improve with minimal impact on what is existing? Give us a better approach,” asked Andrew Ojok, the committee’s Deputy Chairperson. Pallisa Woman MP Kevin Kaala wondered if the capital city still had a future.
“Is there a future for this city? Can Kampala be re-planned based on what is happening?” Kaala asked. Samia-Bugwe Central MP Denis Nyangweso encouraged NPA to draw lessons from the region. “Have you researched on how neighboring countries like Rwanda are succeeding in physical planning? We need to know what they are doing so that we can borrow a leaf,” Nyangweso said.
Meanwhile, Muvawala urged MPs to expedite the proposed Valuation Bill to standardize land valuation. He said the absence of such a law has led to irregularities in compensation rates, inflated land prices, conflicts, disputes, and court injunctions that delay or stall public projects.
“This has resulted in inflated costs of land and hence increasing the cost, land conflicts and disputes, court injunctions leading to stalling of projects and completion time of public development projects,” he said. He further discouraged landowners from “storing land for value,” warning that the practice stifles productivity. “We should encourage land owners to rent out this land without fear of losing it,” Muvawala said.
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