Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago has sought to make clear to Parliament that he and his council “will not tolerate dictatorship in Kampala city.”
The mayor to spoke angrily against the proposed Kampala Capital City Authority Amendment Bill (2015) which was reintroduced in parliament on Tuesday November 10th 2015, with the key proposal in the bill to change the mode of elections of the Kampala Lord Mayor.
The bill seeks to “streamline and strengthen the governance of the Capital City in accordance with Article 5 (4) of the Constitution” by among others providing for the Lord Mayor to be elected by City Councilors.
It also intends to clarify the roles of the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor; to rationalize the provisions relating to the Metropolitan Physical Planning Authority with the structure and provisions relating to the Capital City Authority and for related matter.
Lukwago says however that the adjustments are a ploy against the people of Kampala, and terms this as dictatorship.
“The Bill seeks to disenfranchise Banakampala from electing the most important political head of the City hence denying them democracy which we will not allow” he said.
While addressing the media at City Hall on Monday, Lukwago said that the central government wants to grab his power and throw it to the Minister for Kampala.
He went on to warn, “We shall definitely not allow that to happen; it’s unacceptable. The power belongs to the people.”
At the same press brief, Councilor Doreen Nyanjura the representative for Makerere University urged fellow councilors to stand against the Bill and mobilize their electorate to oppose it.