PAC Probes KCCA, Ministry Of Kampala Work Duplication

Lawmakers on Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee have questioned the relevance of the existence of the Ministry of Kampala and Metropolitan Affairs, yet there already exists Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), saying the funds being used to run the Ministry would instead go towards improving services within the city and other surrounding areas. 

 The MPs made the remarks while interfacing with officials from the Ministry of Kampala and Metropolitan Affairs that had appeared before the Committee to respond to the queries raised in the December 2023 Auditor General’s report, where they decried the duplication of roles between the Ministry of Kampala, KCCA and Ministry of Lands and Urban Development.

However, Monica Edemachu Ejua, Undersecretary, Ministry of Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs defended the existence of the Ministry alongside that of Kampala Capital City Authority, saying the Ministry is meant to supervise and offer guidance to the management of the city and other surrounding areas.

She added that while KCCA comes up with subsidiary laws like ordinances and by-laws, the Ministry ensures that the implementation carried by KCCA is done within the existing framework and they carry out their as expected, in order to coordinate the planning functions of all the nine entities within Kampala Metropolitan region.

The Under secretary, Ministry of Kampala Affairs further has defended the existence of the Ministry of Kampala saying that Uganda’s capital is growing and urbanizing at a rapid rate, where today, the population is about 5million people but Government is looking at this population increasing by 2040 to about 11million people, which calls for the need to plan effectively.

 “If we don’t plan for this region, and then it is serious time bomb having in mind that the bigger percentage of the GDP, over 60% is from this region and there are so many challenges affecting this region, so our mandate is gearing around addressing these issues. While Ministry of Land and Urban Development, we work with them at strategic level but when it comes to coordinating and making sure that implement the plans in line with the guidelines, then it is where the Ministry comes in, so there is no duplication of these mandates in anyway.” Said Monica Edemachu Ejua