KAMPALA— The government has on Friday, May 17 donated nine vehicles to nine entities in the Kampala Metropolitan Area as part of its efforts to strengthen decentralization and improve service delivery.
The vehicles were handed over at a ceremony presided over by Kampala Capital City Affairs Minister Minsa Kabanda, Minister for Local Governments Raphael Magyezi, and their permanent secretaries at the Office of the Prime Minister.
The donation is part of a larger initiative dubbed Greater Kampala Metropolitan area urban development program aimed at improving the overall development of the metropolitan authority. The program is funded by the World Bank and the French Development Agency to the tune of USD 600 million over five years.
According to Minister Magyezi, the donation is part of a larger initiative of the President with a greater vision for the entire metropolitan authority, with a common physical planning structure and development network. “This project is an initiative of the President with a greater vision for the entire metropolitan authority, with a common physical planning structure and development network,” he said.
The vehicles are expected to improve the mobility and effectiveness of the entities in delivering services to the public, he said, emphasizing the importance of collaboration between accounting officers and political leaders in achieving this goal.
“I don’t think you can go and supervise the roads without your district chairperson and feel comfortable, or look at what is being done in the market without a mayor. Let’s use the little facilities we have, share them, and achieve together,” he said.
Minister Kabanda urged drivers to handle the vehicles with care, noting that government vehicles are often misused. “Please respect these cars and the project. Drive them carefully, and don’t take them to farms or places where they’re not supposed to be,” she said.
Monica Edemachu Ejua, the Undersecretary of the Office of the President, Ministry of Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs, explained that the project would address service delivery gaps in Kampala area.
“This program is seeking to address challenges to do with congestion, planning in silos, flooding, and also address the big challenge of time wasted in moving in Kampala metropolitan areas,” she said.
The entities that received vehicles include Mukono, Wakiso, Mpigi, KCCA, and their municipalities (Entebbe, Makindye Ssabagabo, Nansana, Kira, and Mukono).