KCCA OPERATIONALIZES DEVOLUTION, HANDS POWER TO CITY DIVISIONS

The Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has officially rolled out the long-awaited devolution of powers to the five city divisions, nine years after the Authority Council first passed the resolution.

During a change management meeting held at the Mayor’s Parlour on Friday, KCCA Executive Director, Hajjat Sharifah Buzeki, announced that effective July 1, 2025, all divisions are managing independent budgets in line with the KCCA Act, Cap 195, and the Public Finance Management Act, 2015.

“This is a historic step. The government gave us a green light, and divisions are now empowered to implement their own work plans while KCCA provides oversight. This is what we were supposed to have done long ago,” Buzeki said.

She explained that under the new arrangement, finance has issued sub-accounting officer rights to town clerks, and divisions have already begun executing their budgets. Payments such as those for cleaners and other local services will now be managed directly at the division level, a move expected to ease service delivery.

The Executive Director also thanked the Authority Council and the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development for supporting the process, particularly in training staff on financial management and accountability.

According to the law, key provisions such as Section 25B on the functions of Division Executive Committees, Section 35 on devolved responsibilities, and the Third Schedule Part B, which emphasizes bottom-up planning, have been catered for in the new structure.

Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, while handing over accounting policies and manuals to the division mayors, described the moment as a turning point for city governance.

“For years there has been a gulf between the center and the divisions. Today, we are opening a new chapter. You are getting power and authority use it well. Do not abuse it because that will create problems for us all,” he cautioned.

The mayors, town clerks, and speakers of the five divisions welcomed the reform, describing it as a boost to local democracy and efficient service delivery.

While oversight and strategic functions such as engineering and major construction will remain centralized at City Hall, divisions will have autonomy over most of their daily operations.

“This is a big moment. For long, even the smallest decisions required approval from City Hall. Now divisions can act independently, which will improve response to community needs,” Paul Mugambe, the Mayor of Nakawa division remarked.

The devolution process marks the first time since KCCA’s establishment that divisions are independently managing resources, a move stakeholders believe will bring services closer to the people.

By Geofrey Mutegeki Araali

Communication and Media Relations Officer