Kampala, Uganda

Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, is a business hub with over 140,000 business establishments including health and education institutions, contributing 65% of the GDP in the national economy. It is also a renowned cultural and religious location hosting over 5,000 religious worship centers, and a great tourist attraction with many scenic sights such as the City Hall.

Kampala has developed a five-year development plan for 2020-2025, which is hinged on four pillars that are economic growth, governance and residents’ engagement, quality of life and city resilience.

A number of challenges have arisen in the process of urban development, including the problem of road safety in transportation and the ecological problems brought about by urban development.

Therefore, a number of projects have been initiated, including the Physical Development Plan, the Drainage Master Plan, the Transportation Master Plan, the Sanitation Improvement and Financing Strategy, Public Health Strategic Plan, Smart City Strategic Plan, Disaster Risk and Climate Change Resilience Strategies.

In response to urban development issues, Kampala has proposed a range of action strategies that are in line with SDGs, such as the Kampala City Roads Rehabilitation Project (KCRRP), and the Road Safety Strategy (RSS), and has launched an urban forestry project in response to climate change.

In order to enhance road traffic safety, Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has adopted a traffic control system where a pedestrian or cyclist that intends to cross at a traffic controlled junction must demand for green time by pushing the button otherwise no green time will be provided. In other words, the traffic lights continue to allocate green times for vehicle traffic unless there is a demand for pedestrian to cross the junction. This improves the traffic as the unnecessary green time allocated for pedestrians in each cycle will have been eliminated. This measure improves traffic flow by reducing unnecessary green time for pedestrians.

The Government of Uganda launched the first-ever National Road Safety Action Plan 2021/2022-2025/2026 which comprises of five Areas of Action: road safety management, safe road Infrastructure, vehicle safety, safe road use and post-accident response. It aims to strengthen road safety-related policies to protect road users and as a result, reduce road accidents, fatalities and injuries in Kampala City by 50% by the year 2030.

Kampala City plays a leading role in the Africa Smart Towns Network. KCCA places a strong emphasis on automation of processes in service delivery like revenue management system (e-Citie), smart permits, traffic control center, digital communication among others and thus improving service delivery.

For green development, KCCA launched the Kampala Climate Change Action Plan of 2016 in line with the Paris Agreement, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change ratified in 1993, Abidjan Declaration, SDG 11 and 13, to take responsibility for responding to environmental change.

The Kampala City Strategic Plan 2020/21-2024/25 has been prepared as the bedrock of the socioeconomic transformation of the city over the next five years. It will accelerate Kampala’s pace to achieve its vision of being a “Vibrant, Attractive, Liveable and Sustainable City”.