MBARARA CITY, November 5, 2025 — Mbarara City Mayor Robert Mugabe Kakyebezi has urged Central Government to enact a dedicated law for Uganda’s newly created regional cities, arguing that the absence of legal clarity and adequate funding has crippled service delivery, nearly five years after the cities’ elevation from municipal status.
Mayor Kakyebezi made the appeal while presenting Mbarara City’s Financial Year 2026/27 priorities at a recent budget conference, which centred on transforming Mbarara into an “inclusive green city.”
“Ever since Mbarara Municipality was granted city status, we have never received a governing law or document,” Kakyebezi said.
He stressed that while political and administrative structures had expanded, the necessary funding had not followed.
The lack of a clear legal framework, he added, has also stalled the separation of assets and boundaries between the city and the original district.
“Our assets have never been separated, that is why Kakyeka Stadium has not been rehabilitated, among others,” he noted.
According to the Mayor, Mbarara continues to receive the same level of funding as it did when it was a municipality, which is insufficient to extend services to the new wards added to increase the city’s population.
“Ever since we became a city, our funding has never increased. We continue to receive the same municipal budget, yet our local structures have multiplied,” Kakyebezi said.
Funding cuts and infrastructure challenges
The city’s financial woes have been worsened by severe cuts to essential infrastructure budgets. Patrick Kanamugira, the City’s Senior Economist, revealed that Mbarara’s road fund allocation had dropped drastically from Shs 1.2 billion [as a municipality] to only Shs 365 million as a city, leaving roads in a poor state.
“The money we were receiving as a municipality has never increased. Previously we got Shs 1.2 billion for the road fund, but this was slashed to Shs 365 million,” Kanamugira explained.
Mayor Kakyebezi called on the government to amend the Road Fund Act, saying it fails to cater for the newly created city divisions, leaving community access roads such as Kakamba–Rwagaju and Kinyaza impassable.
Key priorities for FY 2026/27
Despite the budgetary constraints, the city leadership has outlined several priorities for the upcoming financial year, with a focus on discipline, governance, and sustainability.
Enforcing order in the city
The mayor warned against poor urban farming practices, urging residents who keep livestock to adopt zero-grazing methods.
“You meet 20 or 30 goats in the middle of the city eating our planted trees and flowers — this must stop,” he said.
He also vowed to enforce the city’s physical plan, compelling plot owners to develop their land within six months to prevent the growth of slums.
Kakyebezi further directed city technocrats, particularly the market master, to improve garbage collection around the main market to keep Mbarara clean.
Land titling
Ronald Taremwa, Secretary for Finance, emphasised the urgent need to prioritise titling all city-owned land, including the city parking yard, to safeguard public property from land grabbers.
“It is surprising that Mbarara City has existed for several years but its parking yard still has no land title. In the coming budget, we are prioritising the titling of all government land,” he noted.
Infrastructure maintenance
Taremwa appealed to residents to protect streetlights from vandalism by street children and scrap dealers, saying the city must preserve its costly infrastructure.
Staffing and financial performance
The city’s revenue collection remains relatively strong. In FY 2024/25, Mbarara City collected Shs 9.18 billion, achieving 91 percent of its target, despite businesses being strained by double taxation from the City Council and the Uganda Revenue Authority [URA].
“We appreciate that our business community is burdened with many taxes. As the City Council collects, URA also collects from them. Therefore, we are not increasing our revenue projections this year to avoid hurting our business community,” said Taremwa.
However, staffing shortages continue to undermine service delivery. Dr Moses Amanyire, Head of Production, reported that his department’s staffing ratio stands at a worrying 1:17,000, making it nearly impossible to supervise ongoing projects.
“Before becoming a city, we had three staff members — and even after becoming a city, we still have three. The workload is enormous. We urgently need more recruitment, especially in health and education,” he appealed.
Allan Buhanda, the City Commercial Officer, said his department will continue supporting SACCOs under the Parish Development Model (PDM) to promote access to financial services and transform subsistence households into participants in the money economy.
“We shall continue supervising and monitoring all cooperatives to ensure sustainability and good governance so they become vehicles for socio-economic transformation,” Buhanda said.
Calls for innovation and compliance
Stakeholders at the conference offered pointed advice to the city leadership:
Tax compliance:
Simon Mwijuka Seith, Chairperson of the Mbarara City Traders Association [MBACITA], proposed annual cash prizes for the best taxpayers as an incentive to improve compliance and give back to the business community.
Colonial renaming:
John Tumusiime Salongo, a former lecturer at Makerere University, challenged the city to rename roads still bearing colonial names — such as Galt Road, after individuals who have contributed to Mbarara’s growth.
“Why should we still have roads named after colonialists like Galt Road? What would it cost to rename them after our own people who have done so much for this city?” Tumusiime asked.
The budget conference aimed to align Mbarara City’s plans with the national strategy for FY 2026/27, themed “Full Monetisation of Uganda’s Economy.”
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