The Local Government Ministry is considering further amendments to the local government Act to introduce provisions too specific to the management of the newly created cities.
In July last year, the government started operationalizing seven new cities including Hoima, Mbarara, Mbale, Gulu, Jinja, Masaka and Fort portal following their elevation from municipalities.
The draft amendments according to Justinian Nuwagaba, the Commissioner for Urban Administration in the Ministry of local government are necessitated by the need to have customized provisions that can enable effective management of the new urban local governments as well as drawing a clear distinction between them and the districts.
Besides the proposed amendments, Nuwagaba foresees a situation that will require the government to enact a separate law on the administration of the new cities.
Nuwagaba indicates that such a setting will need a special arrangement, which the government will inevitably have to put in place for effective management.
