The Grind with Kamara hosts Eng. David Luyimbazi
Kampala, Uganda’s capital city, has long been riddled with challenges that sometimes make it difficult to live in.
This hilly area, covering about 189 square kilometres, has a rapidly growing population estimated at about 4.5 million people during the day and about 1.8 million people at night, according to the 2024 National Population Census report.
The city is made up of five divisions, with its centre of power run under a centralised authority, the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA). The authority operates through both political and technical arms of administration, which have often been characterised by persistent disagreements.
These conflicts have sometimes resulted in slow or delayed progress in service delivery to city residents. Kampala continues to face numerous challenges, including traffic congestion, pollution, poor waste management, rising day and night street crime, disorganised boda boda operations, ungazetted taxi stages, and unsafe structures operating as both residential and commercial buildings.
In addition, the city struggles with poor waste collection and disposal, wetland encroachment that contributes to flooding during heavy rains, and unplanned developments.
On a positive note, some infrastructural projects are currently being undertaken by KCCA, including road construction and rehabilitation, as well as efforts to restore order in city trade—such as the eviction of street vendors and wetland encroachers.
However, this is not the first time such initiatives have been implemented, yet Kampala’s challenges often appear bigger than anticipated. This raises an important question: What will it take to fix Kampala’s persistent challenges?
In this episode of The Grind with Patrick Kamara, the host engages Infrastructure and Urban Planning Specialist Engineer David Ssali Luyimbazi in a conversation about why Kampala’s problems have persisted and the possible solutions to address them.
Luyimbazi, who previously served as Deputy Executive Director at KCCA, brings extensive experience to the discussion as an engineer, infrastructure consultant, and physical planning specialist. Drawing from both his professional expertise and his time within the authority, he offers a candid perspective—arguing that political interference in the management of city affairs should stop, impunity must be addressed, and budgetary allocations to the authority should be increased. Without these measures, he warns, efforts to transform the city may remain fruitless.
The Grind with Kamara hosts Eng. David Luyimbazi
Kampala, Uganda’s capital city, has long been riddled with challenges that sometimes make it difficult to live in.
This hilly area, covering about 189 square kilometres, has a rapidly growing population estimated at about 4.5 million people during the day and about 1.8 million people at night, according to the 2024 National Population Census report.
The city is made up of five divisions, with its centre of power run under a centralised authority, the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA). The authority operates through both political and technical arms of administration, which have often been characterised by persistent disagreements.
These conflicts have sometimes resulted in slow or delayed progress in service delivery to city residents. Kampala continues to face numerous challenges, including traffic congestion, pollution, poor waste management, rising day and night street crime, disorganised boda boda operations, ungazetted taxi stages, and unsafe structures operating as both residential and commercial buildings.
In addition, the city struggles with poor waste collection and disposal, wetland encroachment that contributes to flooding during heavy rains, and unplanned developments.
On a positive note, some infrastructural projects are currently being undertaken by KCCA, including road construction and rehabilitation, as well as efforts to restore order in city trade—such as the eviction of street vendors and wetland encroachers.
However, this is not the first time such initiatives have been implemented, yet Kampala’s challenges often appear bigger than anticipated. This raises an important question: What will it take to fix Kampala’s persistent challenges?
In this episode of The Grind with Patrick Kamara, the host engages Infrastructure and Urban Planning Specialist Engineer David Ssali Luyimbazi in a conversation about why Kampala’s problems have persisted and the possible solutions to address them.
Luyimbazi, who previously served as Deputy Executive Director at KCCA, brings extensive experience to the discussion as an engineer, infrastructure consultant, and physical planning specialist. Drawing from both his professional expertise and his time within the authority, he offers a candid perspective—arguing that political interference in the management of city affairs should stop, impunity must be addressed, and budgetary allocations to the authority should be increased. Without these measures, he warns, efforts to transform the city may remain fruitless.