Uganda’s Parliament on Thursday passed the Kampala Capital City Amendment Bill 2019.
The bill which was first introduced in 2015 has put in place the position of Speaker at KCCA and the Divisions to separate power. This means the legislative powers have been handed over to the Speaker, while the Executive powers left to the Lord Mayor.
The bill has also created executive committee of four people who will work for the Lord Mayor.
This committee will supervise the day to day work at the authority and at the division. The bill also separates the council which will completely be for legislative purposes only, while the authority will remain a corporate body of technical staff and councillors.
The Bill entrusts powers of coordinating physical planning activities in the metropolitan areas in the office of the Ministry of Kampala.
The bill also streamlines roles and responsibilities of different offices, a move which both the Government and opposition think will end the long-standing battles. The initial proposal that sought to rationalize provisions relating to the metropolitan physical planning Authority was deleted from the bill.
Others removed from the bill include proposals to have the Lord Mayor elected by the Council from among the councillors among others.
According to Benny Namugwanya, the Minister of State for Kampala, in the current law the roles are not separated which has caused confusion.
Namugwanya says that they spent adequate time so that they don’t make laws for individuals but for the country. She says as Government they are happy with the passed proposal.
Betti Olive Kamya, the Kampala Minister says Lukwago retains the title of Political head, but Kampala still remains administered by the Central Government.
She says the major change in the law is the fact that the Lord Mayor will not preside over council meetings but the Speaker of the council.
Mukono Municipality Woman MP Betty Nambooze says they are happy that the Lord Mayor is the political head of the City, and also the powers of appropriation lie with the elected leaders.
She says the bill has returned power back to the people, and as MPs, they are happy with the proposals.
The bill now awaits the President’s signature before it can come to force after the 2021 elections.
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