Uganda: Sustainable financing of new cities key to development - Member of Parliament (MP) Alobo

Government should provide adequate, predictable and sustainable financing for cities, and ring-fence domestic budgetary allocations for roads, drainages, markets, waste management and other critical urban infrastructure.

The call was contained in a motion moved by Soroti City Woman Representative, Hon. Joan Alobo who urged government to prioritise development and financing of cities in Uganda as engines of socio-economic transformation.

In the motion presented on Wednesday, 11 November 2026, Alobo noted that 10 out of 15 cities including Arua, Gulu, Lira, Soroti, Mbale, Jinja, Masaka, Mbarara, Fort Portal and Hoima have been operationalised.

She added that the proposed cities of Kabale, Moroto, Nakasongola, Entebbe and Wakiso are yet to become functional.

“The 10 cities are operating well below their approved staffing structures, most of them lack approved physical development plans, statutory bodies such as City Service Commissions are grossly underfunded and the regulations required to guide city governance have not been issued,” Alobo said.

She observed that on 31 March 2026, the World Bank approved US$540 million in International Development Association financing for the six-year Uganda Cities and Municipalities Infrastructure Development (UCMID) programme covering 10 cities, 26 municipalities and 13 refugee-hosting districts.

The funding is expected to benefit approximately 5.6 million people including 600,000 refugees and create up to 40,000 direct jobs through climate-smart infrastructure and local economic development.

“Let it be resolved by this Parliament that government aligns and coordinates with World Bank, African Development Bank and other development-partner investments within the National Cities Development and Investment Strategy, while ensuring complementarity, timely counterpart funding and measurable regional outcomes,” Alobo said.

She, however, noted that donor money alone cannot build cities adding that without a national strategy, predictable domestic financing and clear targets, such investments will be scattered and their impact short-lived.

“Government should prepare and submit to Parliament, within six months of the adoption of this resolution, a costed and time-bound implementation framework for the National Cities Development and Investment Strategy, indicating annual budgetary commitments, development-partner financing, responsible Ministries, Departments and Agencies and measurable outcomes,” Alobo proposed.

Hon. Martin Ojara (NRM, Bardege-Layibi Division) observing that several parishes and sub-counties that were merged with municipalities to meet the threshold of a city status have received the much-required services.

“Many of those sub-counties that became part of the cities lack electricity, piped-water lines and struggle to have access to roads. There is need to provide adequate funding to enable the annexed areas get the services that a city is entitled to,” Mapenduzi said.

Hon. Denis Alyela (NRM, Lira East Division) noted that the concentration of economic activities, specialised services and investment opportunities in Kampala has placed enormous pressure on the capital city through rural-urban migration.

He suggested deliberate investment in regional cities to distribute economic opportunities, promote local industry and strengthen the agricultural value chain.

“A city should not merely be a change of name or administrative status, but must represent transformation in infrastructure, service delivery, economic opportunities and the quality of life of our people,” Alyela said.

Hoima West Division MP, Hon. Ismail Kasule cited the case of Hoima City that lacks a city hospital, proper road network and proper waste management, which he attributed to insufficient and unpredictable financing for city authorities.

“In Hoima City, we have 16 wards but only two have reached 60 per cent of electricity connection. These cities annexed many wards from other divisions of the district and thus need to be prioritised to enable their development,” Kasule said.

Mbarara City Woman Representative, Hon. Charity Kibaaju called on government to establish a dedicated financing window to prioritise waste management, secondary drainage channels and restoration of urban river banks.

The State Minister for Urban Development, Hon. Margaret Muhanga said urban opportunities are immense and should be harnessed through deliberate interventions, adding that new cities must not be merely created, but should work as engines of economic development.

“We need to complete all the necessary legal policy frameworks for city development and management, build on the completed regulatory assessment and review the National Urban Policy of 2017,” she added.

The Government Chief Whip, Hon. Jane Ruth Aceng emphasised the need for MPs to supervise the operations of cities to ensure value for money, particularly on the UCMID programme.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.