{"id":547,"date":"2026-05-13T11:54:51","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T08:54:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cedat.mak.ac.ug\/knowledgehub\/?p=547"},"modified":"2026-05-13T12:35:33","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T09:35:33","slug":"makerere-don-remove-politics-from-urban-planning-consider-nationalizing-city-land","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cedat.mak.ac.ug\/knowledgehub\/makerere-don-remove-politics-from-urban-planning-consider-nationalizing-city-land\/","title":{"rendered":"Makerere Don: Remove Politics from Urban Planning, Consider Nationalizing City Land"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Makerere

Makerere Don: Remove Politics from Urban Planning, Consider Nationalizing City Land<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

CEDAT\u2019s Prof. Kizito Maria Kasule warns chaotic growth will persist unless Uganda reforms land and politics, as Makerere launches national urban research hub<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\u201cProf.

Prof. Kizito warns: without land reform and depoliticized planning, Uganda\u2019s cities risk endless chaos as Makerere launches the National Urban Knowledge Hub.<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

Uganda must urgently remove politics from urban planning and consider nationalizing land in cities to stop chaotic growth, Associate Professor Kizito Maria Kasule, Deputy Principal at Makerere University\u2019s College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT), said Thursday.<\/p>\n

Speaking at a validation workshop for the Urban Expansion Planning Project at CEDAT, Prof. Kizito pointed to Kampala\u2019s transformation since 1989. \u201cAreas like Kikumi Kikumi and Kiwunya Parish were once banana plantations,\u201d he said. \u201cToday everyone is building, putting up the house anyhow, the way they want.\u201d<\/p>\n

He cited the failed Namungoona upgrade as proof that planning without political will fails. \u201cWorld Bank-funded planned housing was sold off and new slums emerged nearby,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have good plans when it comes to urban planning. Implementation is a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRemove Politics, Nationalize City Land\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prof. Kizito called for radical reform. \u201cIf we want to have proper urban planning in this country, there is an urgent need to remove politics from all matters concerning urban planning. Without that, don\u2019t expect anything positive.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cI strongly feel there is a need for the government to look into the matters of nationalizing land in urban centers\u2026 to allow proper planning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Makerere Launches National Urban Knowledge Hub<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"

Dr. Kiggundu Amin Tamale, Head of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

To tackle unplanned growth, CEDAT has established a new national knowledge hub, announced Dr. Kiggundu Amin Tamale, Head of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning.<\/p>\n

Key outputs include a digital platform under the new Makerere University Regional Center for Urban Research, Governance and Innovation. \u201cToday we already have this knowledge hub in the form of a digital platform, functional and established under the Regional Center,\u201d Dr. Tamale said.<\/p>\n

The project has trained 98 trainers on urban expansion planning and developed an online short course with African Urban Lab. It also created a practitioner network with the Urban Authorities Association of Uganda (UAAU) and a land management handbook for Greater Kampala.<\/p>\n

\u201cResearch is very critical. Information is very critical on whatever intervention that you want to implement,\u201d Dr. Tamale said. The center will train city leaders and \u201cchange agents\u201d to improve urban competitiveness.<\/p>\n

Rollout to 11 Cities, 589 Town Councils<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"

UAAU Secretary General Barabanawe Francis<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

UAAU Secretary General Barabanawe Francis said urban expansion planning will soon roll out to all 11 cities, 31 municipalities, and 589 town councils after a seven-year pilot succeeded in Jinja, Mbale, Arua, Koboko, and Gulu.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you experiment something and it succeeds, then you roll over other areas,\u201d he said. With Uganda\u2019s urbanization at 5.4%, \u201cwe must make sure we move very fast to precede them, to be ahead of them, and plan ahead of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The plan starts with six new cities \u2013 Soroti, Lira, Masaka, Mbarara, Hoima, and Fort Portal \u2013 where 30-meter-wide arterial roads will link centers to peripheries. \u201cWe are going to construct roads, big roads for 30 kilometers in the periphery,\u201d Barabanawe said.<\/p>\n

He urged town councils to budget at least 30 million shillings for planning. \u201cIf you have got a mayor and a town clerk, both of them are positive, there can be no problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arua: Fastest Growing, Critical Gaps<\/strong><\/p>\n

National UEP Program Coordinator Eriaku William said Arua is now Uganda\u2019s largest city by area but only 8 of 100 planned arterial roads are open. \u201cArua borders two international borders, DRC and South Sudan,\u201d he noted, yet most of its 401 sq km has almost no council-owned land \u2013 \u201ca very bad indicator.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other cities face challenges too. \u201cMbale used to be the cleanest city in East Africa, but this is no more,\u201d Eriaku said. \u201cJinja used to be the industrialized town in Uganda, but this also is no more.\u201d Most cities lack a physical development plan, land officer, or staff surveyor. \u201cThey have only one physical planner.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ministry to Mainstream Urban Planning<\/strong><\/p>\n

Representing the Commissioner for Physical Planning, Ssenyonjo Andrew said the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development will entrench urban expansion planning into the National Land Use Policy and ministry budgets starting July 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere the plans are and are being prepared, these plans have to be implemented. And their implementation requires financing,\u201d he said. The Uganda Cities and Municipalities Infrastructure Development Program will direct its Institutional Strengthening Grant toward urban expansion planning.<\/p>\n

\u201cBusiness as Usual Won\u2019t Work\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"

Cities Alliance Country Technical Advisor Mabala Samuel<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cities Alliance Country Technical Advisor Mabala Samuel called for mandatory 30-year expansion plans for all councils. \u201cUrbanization does not respect those administrative boundaries. It always goes beyond\u2026 we are not responding appropriately,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

With over 60% of Ugandans in slums and 70% of GDP from cities, Mabala stressed: \u201cThe cities that are well planned serve as engines for economic growth. If we could only invest more in our cities, we would accelerate our transformation.\u201d<\/p>\n

National UEP Mentor and Physical Planning Board President Derek Muhwezi added that urban councils must own land and fund planning. \u201cYou cannot milk a cow that you don\u2019t feed,\u201d he said. \u201cCouncils don\u2019t need to wait for money from the Centre.\u201d<\/p>\n

The three-year initiative, funded by Cities Alliance and UNOPS, targets Jinja, Gulu, Arua, and Koboko amid rapid settlement growth where \u201cmany areas are still un-serviced\u201d and \u201clack the required infrastructure, like roads, power lines, water.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pull Quotes for Web Boxes
\nWe have good plans when it comes to urban planning. Implementation is a problem.\u201d \u2013 Prof. Kizito Maria Kasule<\/p>\n

If we don\u2019t move very fast\u2026 once they have subdivided all this, where shall we now pass?\u201d \u2013 Barabanawe Francis, UAAU<\/p>\n

Urbanization can be the most powerful driver of national development. The choices we make today will determine the path.\u201d \u2013 Mabala Samuel, Cities Alliance<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  CEDAT\u2019s Prof. Kizito Maria Kasule warns chaotic growth will persist unless Uganda reforms land and politics, as Makerere launches national urban research hub Uganda must urgently remove politics from urban planning and consider nationalizing land in cities to stop chaotic growth, Associate Professor Kizito Maria Kasule, Deputy Principal at . . . Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"iawp_total_views":8,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,40,38,44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","category-blog","category-news","category-workshop","clearfix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cedat.mak.ac.ug\/knowledgehub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cedat.mak.ac.ug\/knowledgehub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cedat.mak.ac.ug\/knowledgehub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cedat.mak.ac.ug\/knowledgehub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cedat.mak.ac.ug\/knowledgehub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=547"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/cedat.mak.ac.ug\/knowledgehub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":554,"href":"https:\/\/cedat.mak.ac.ug\/knowledgehub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547\/revisions\/554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cedat.mak.ac.ug\/knowledgehub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cedat.mak.ac.ug\/knowledgehub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cedat.mak.ac.ug\/knowledgehub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}