Government has Tuesday retabled proposed amendments in the 2010 Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Act, after it had been shelved for two years under unclear circumstances.
The Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Amendment Bill 2015 was retabled by the Minister of State for Kampala Capital City Authority Benny Namugwanya which is among others intended to streamline the election of the Lord Mayor and his roles as well as his deputy.
The bill provides for election of the Lord Mayor and the Deputy Lord Mayor to be elected by KCCA Councilors.
The framers of the Bill who include the former Minister for Kampala, Frank Tumwebaze argue that while KCC was given a special status from Local government and is being administered by the Central government, the Act still provides for decentralized local government within the capital city which has led to contradiction and clash of roles.
Government believes that the lack of clarity in the administrative structure means that the technical staff of KCCA are obliged to report to the Minister and to the elected leaders at various administrative units within the city without specifying the reporting mechanism.
The Bill therefore seeks to amend the Act to address the apparent clash of roles and re-assert the powers of the Central government in administration of Kampala Capital City by vesting more powers in the Minister who is a representative of the Central government by making him or her political head of the Capital City.
Upon receiving the bill, the Speaker Rebecca Kadaga tasked the Presidential Affairs Committee of Parliament to handle it and report back to Parliament in only 49 days.