Kampala needs decongesting

#MyKampala

The story of collapsing buildings in Kampala will soon shape Kampala’s legacy as one of the most dangerous cities to live in. If buildings can collapse at will, no one is safe. However, Kampala’s troubles are more than that. Collapsing buildings are just the tip of the iceberg. Rather, Kampala’s real woes are about the continued lack of urban planning and a steady confusion of the nature of a modern City.

We should applaud KCCA for whatever efforts made to turn Kampala City from a fast growing dirty slum into a decent slum. However, those efforts are not enough because of the bad blood and politics that limits the potentials of the City Authority.

When you travel around the world – and most of the managers of Kampala are well travelled – you see that Cities and urban centres are well planned and designed for the future. Kampala is chocking because of this absolute lack of a futuristic purview of what it should be. Given the expansion of Kampala’s population through rural-urban migrations, births, and foreigner settlements, some robust actions are required.

To understand a City, one must consider it a living entity. The city is like the mammal with complete pathophysiological functions. The City needs fresh air to breath, space to grow, a heart to pump “blood” through its arteries and veins, Waste Management System for it to cleanse; Time for it to sleep and wake, space for it to partake in physical activities, a sickbay for it to heal, and replenishment for it to rejuvenate. The city has mental health/wellness needs too; crises points for its troubles to get resolved, recreation for it to enjoy a quality of life and maintain a characteristic tradition, and proper grooming for it to glitter and adorn beautifully like the Princess. There are more; Cities even socialize, that is when you see inter-cities’ events across the world.

in many ways, a proper understanding of the physiology of the City would inspire a proper manner of its governance, planning and forecasting. Kampala has expanded sporadically and yet its internal systems that should support its growth and development have stalled. Even with the threat of global warming, the green movement has not yet hit the city’s conscience.

People are destroying wetlands, the volume of cars on the single/double lane roads have tripple in a decade leading to enormous pollution in Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono. The congestions and pollutions in Kampala are gaining a characteristic harmful nature. The smog and smell of industrial waste from Mukwano Industries, Meat packers, and the smell from randomly broken sewers in the City are already a major source of human diseases – respiratory, cancer, etc. Try to drive by the Electoral Commission Offices at about 5pm and you will experience a unique smell of the city – pungent, repulsive, and sickening smell. If you must drive from Wankoko on Luzira Road, you would pray that the traffic does not lock you in these areas, coming to Meat packers and towards Jinja Road. The stench is like someone is in a Police morgue!

Kampala City Council Authority needs to up its game if it is to propel Kampala to a decent city status. In its current form, Kampala is a slum dwelling and its managers can cajole themselves for a work well done in beautifying a slum, but not modernizing the city. To be able to modify the City, bold – and I mean grand innovations, need to be undertaken. This may include the strategic amalgamation of Kampala with Mukono and Wakiso into a Metropolitan establishment. I have previously advised on the creation of Alternative Business Centres to decongest the inner City. Kawempe, Ntinda, Gayaza, Matugga, Bweyogerere (in addition to Kiira), or such centres should become Municipalities and furnished with its own Owino, Nakivuubo, Kikuubo etc version to attract such traders.

Understandably, the KCCA should take an interest in the Sub-county Development Model that was proposed by the TDA Campaign in the just concluded elections. This strategy will help put up standardized services to all the adjacent sprawling urban centres that will significantly reduce the congestion burden on the inner city Kampala. Creating a one-way routes during peak house would relieve traffic. Ask yourself, what do people really crave from downtown Kampala? Trade, services, deals, and cheap goods. Can we create alternate places where we can replenish them with the same or even better alternative to reduce over-crowding in Kampala’s Central District?

END