President Yoweri Museveni has once again hailed the now famed, Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development , Additional Financing (USMID-AF) program ,being implemented by the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development noting that it has supplemented efforts to build Uganda’s solid economic base, to support industrialization and socio- economic transformation.
He said that the project funded by the World bank which has been running for the last 10 years has helped to bridge the infrastructure gap in a number of municipalities and cities across the country .
In a speech read for him by Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala , the Minister of Works and Transport at the official opening of a two day National Urban Development Conference , Museveni said that the additional tarmacked roads, which have been constructed under the USMID-AF project headed by Dr.Eng. Isaac Mutenyo , are pull factors for investment since they have lowered the costs fo doing business in the economy .
“Government is aiming at achieving low costs of transport , low costs of electricity , low interests rates so that the private sector can male profits . The more companies tha come in , the more products (goods) and services they produce , the more jobs they create , and the more tax money they generate, “ the president stated .
At the well attended conference that drew Ministers, Members of Parliament ,Mayors , and Town Clerks from 11 cities and municipalities across the country , Museveni called upon the local leaders to mobilise the population to take advantage of the good roads, electricity , peace and security to create jobs and wealth , for their families.
“Development alone is not enough , though it must come first . Development is a collective good for everyone. A road belongs to the community; but , an individual can utilize it to transport their crops from the farm to the market. Therefore, infrastructure benefits people who are engaged in production of a good or service. The four major sectors for creating wealth and jobs are commercial agriculture ,industrialization , services and ICT , “he emphasized .
On his part, Gen Katumba Wamala commended the managers of the USMID-AF project and the leadership of he Ministry of Lands led by Minister . Judith Nabakooba Nalule for transforming Uganda’s cities and urban centers but hastened to call for proper maintenance of the new infrastructure .
“ Many urban centers are dirty . people are vending on walk ways . We have the Road Act that mandates the local authorities to punish those who destroying good infrastructure, and dumping waste in drainage channels . The law must be enforced , “ Gen. Katumba rallied the Cities leaders in the audience .
Nabakooba said the National Urban Development Conference will be an annual event .
Speaking at the inaugural National Urban Development Conference held under the Theme “Accelerating Urban Development Through Infrastructure: USMID experience’’ Nabakooba told the conference that since the launch of the USMID Program, a lot of transformation has been registered in the USMID participating local governments to the extent of some of them getting elevated to the City status.
“The program has become one of the success stories of the NRM Government and it aligns well to the NRM manifesto geared towards the socio-economic transformation of Ugandans. The problems of urban areas and their sustained development are no longer acceptable and they are being tackled effectively,” she said .
“The urban Local Governments of 2013 at the start of the program are far much different to those of 2025 in terms of development. The infrastructure investments have been key in facilitating trade and mobility, increased economic development as well as increased revenue mobilization and collections. This has in turn improved on the financial portfolios of the participating Local Governments with most of them registering over 200% revenue improvement for service delivery in their towns,” Nabakooba added.
Nabakooba thanked her colleague State Minister for Urban Development Mr. Mario Obiga Kania for chairing the organizing committee that put together the inaugural National Urban Development Conference .
PS Ministry of Lands , Mrs.Dorca W. Okalany said her technical teams has put in place good forward looking -policies and guidelines , and reforms including the National Urban Policy, the National Physical Development Plan, and different frameworks for smart and climate-resilient cities.
She said that as a ministry they are in the final stages of preparing a new national project- the Uganda Cities and Municipalities Infrastructure Development (UCIMID) which will succeed the USMID-AF project and slated to commence in the new financial year. The program will bringing on board all the municipalities and cities in Uganda in addition to the earlier ones already under the project.
Dr. Muntenyo the USMID-AF national Project Coordinator , called for continued institutional capacity building in the cities and municipalities to protect and sustain the new projects constructed. He also recommended that development must be controlled to avoid intional urban sprawl .
“Infrastructure development is critical for the liveability and economic development of cities but is costly . therefore, resources must be continuously sourced for infrastructure ,” Mutenyo stressed.
At the same function a roads construction manual developed by the Ministry of Works and Transport to guide local authorities was launched .
