A new report by Paul Isolo Mukwaya, Judith Mbabazi and Henrik Ernstson draws on ACRC’s holistic conceptual framework components – politics, systems and domains – to analyse urban development in Kampala.
Kampala is Uganda’s capital city, serving as its major administrative and commercial centre. One of Africa’s fastest-expanding cities, it is growing at an annual rate of 5.6%. Originally planned for 300,000 people at the time of its declaration as the capital city of Uganda, it has expanded rapidly over the past 60 years, with a daytime population of over 4.5 million. Yet its urban planning functions and infrastructure are struggling to keep pace with the acute needs of this growing population.
This new report explores how national and city-level politics, urban systems and particular configurations of actors, agencies, ideas and practices have shaped development across various domains. It looks at the urban development domains of informal settlements; youth and capability development; land and connectivity; and health, wellbeing and nutrition.
Through holistic analysis of various studies conducted by researchers in the city, the authors identify the most pressing development problems facing Kampala – and its disadvantaged communities in particular. They also highlight the challenges that are likely to be encountered in efforts to solve these issues in an equitable and (environmentally and fiscally) sustainable way.
Interest politics and institutional dysfunctionality
The report highlights Kampala’s highly politicised culture. Political authority in the city has become highly fragmented, with a myriad of power centres emerging. A series of experiments, including decentralisation and recentralisation of city governance, have not delivered the required service delivery outcomes for Kampala.
A longstanding commitment to privatisation and market-driven responses has weakened the capacity of both central and city governments to govern and coordinate critical systems and services effectively. Institutional dysfunctionality means that private formal and informal actors fill the many gaps in centralised systems, resulting in complex formal–informal modes of delivery that rarely offer reliable, accessible and affordable services. Water supply, waste management, sanitation, public safety, housing, energy and even circulation of traffic are systemic challenges. Urban life typically survives in the alternatives, with marginalised groups particularly affected by Kampala’s urban development problems. Overall, system shortcomings and improvisations have resulted in informal neighbourhoods, inaccessible settlements, inefficient transport systems, ineffective electricity distribution systems, insecurity and injustice.
Priority reforms and citizen agency
The report identifies the priority reforms that Kampala urgently requires. These include informal settlement upgrading; proper land registration; waste management; apprenticeship, skills development and vocational training for youth groups; and public health campaigns on healthy diets. State capabilities to address urban development challenges are needed in areas including financing, human resource capacity improvements, and the capacity to forge productive partnerships and new ways of working with relevant non-state actors and to undertake basic regulatory functions.
To address these issues, the authors identify a need to explore how local communities can participate effectively in city governance affairs – and how economists, political scientists, urban researchers and individuals or groups can give urban reform policy advice, without being construed as government critics or members of the opposition.
They point to the huge potential for citizen agency across the city. Residents are demanding urban reform around key service delivery challenges – using platforms such as neighbourhood watch systems, (in)formal financing systems, digital warrior and hashtag activism. These have increasingly been supported by community and civil society, which, with support, have the potential to offer a stronger voice and more effective source of service provision for Kampala’s most marginalised residents.
Header photo credit: emretopdemir / Getty Images (via Canva Pro). View over Kampala, Uganda.
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