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The new Executive Director of Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA)has outlined her three-year- vision for “winning the future” rooted in a 10-point masterplan, striking a familiar tone of unity and reconciliation as she revitalised her predecessor’s emphasis on turning the former “Hill of Impalas” into a smart city.

President Museveni with the help of the Public Service Commission has appointed Ms Sharifah Buzeki as the new executive director of Kampala Capital City Authority, replacing Dorothy Kisaka who was sacked at the height of the Kiteezi landfill collapse in August this year that left at least 35 people dead and others missing.

The President has also appointed Mr Benon Kigenyi as the deputy ED, replacing Mr David Luyimbazi, who was also fired with Ms Kisaka. In September, the President appointed the director of legal affairs, Mr Frank Nyakaana Rusa, to fill the vacuum at City Hall. Mr Rusa is expected to revert to his Legal Affairs job at KCCA.

In October, Ms Kisaka, Mr David Luyimbazi, and former KCCA director of health services, Dr Daniel Okello, were arrested and charged with multiple counts relating to Kiteezi landfill tragedy.

With Kampala facing mounting challenges in urban management and service delivery, all eyes will now be on Ms Buzeki and Mr Kigenyi to steer KCCA toward a more efficient and accountable future as the country heads into the 2026 general elections.

The people who know Ms Buzeki talked of “a smart lady”, coming to KCCA with “immaculate hands” and competence in the management of in public affairs.

Previously, she served as a commissioner for human resource management, heading the Department of Human Resource Management in the Ministry of Local Government, the Department of Public Service Inspection and Quality Assurance and the Department of Human Resource Policies and Procedures in the Ministry of Public Service. She brings more than 13 years of professional experience in human resource management, institutional development, and performance management.

Ms Buzeki, in an exclusive interview with the Monitor yesterday, expressed gratitude to Allah, President Museveni and explained that the first days at City Hall will be crucial in setting the tone for the desired transformation of the Kampala to meet the city population’s expectations.

“We have not come to play around with the problems in the city. We have a job to do. I will mainly focus on addressing pressing issues in Kampala while reaching out to all the stakeholders and laying the groundwork for long-term improvements,” Ms Buzeki said.

She cited waste management as one of the key priorities and talked of the use of innovative methods in handling the volume of waste generated in Kampala.

“Our focus is going to be on waste management practices that will help us reduce pressure on the landfill and ecosystem-friendly technologies like recycling, re-use, will be preferred. We will ensure cleanliness and beautification of city spaces," she said.

Under urban planning and infrastructure improvement, she explained that this would ensure guided development while addressing traffic congestion through what she called “implementing short-term measures” like digitally optimising traffic flow, improving intersections and making city roads motorable.

The new executive director also talked of public safety and security, which are key to the transformation of Kampala into a smart city. She reiterated that “Kampala should be a livable city for all of us”.

Collaboration

“I intend to collaborate with the police and other security agencies, street committee to enhance safety in high-risk areas, particularly addressing street crime and areas with limited police presence. We are going to work hard to restore peace and security in the city,” she explained.

She also promised to regulate public spaces in Kampala by developing priority programmes to ensure the safety and proper regulation of informal markets, street vendors, and other public spaces, ensuring they are organised, secure, and accessible.

The KCCA boss promised to host town hall meetings and other forms of public engagement to understand the concerns and needs of city dwellers, adding that “transparency and listening to residents will help me foster active citizen participation in transforming the city.”

Ms Buzeki said she would consider inclusive governance: Prioritise policies that promote inclusivity, ensuring that marginalised groups, including women and youth, are engaged and planned for. She also undertook to work with the entire business community and all other stakeholders to revitalise the city economy to enhance revenue realisation.

“We will support small businesses and come up with initiatives to support local entrepreneurs and businesses, particularly those in informal sectors,” she said, adding that this will be achieved through “offering training, and access to finance, infrastructure support and encourage them to formalise their businesses to narrow the informal sector. This will be through anchoring on key government programmes like Emyooga, Parish Development Model (PDM), and GROW, among others.”

She added: “We are going to develop plans to make markets habitable, improve market occupancy to facilitate organised trade in the city, work towards digitalising revenue management to limit physical interactions between taxpayers and collectors and minimise wastage along the revenue collection chain, we will enforce trade order, improve management of markets and trade.”

On environmental conservation, the new Kampala ED also talked about promoting green spaces and tree planting in the city. She also promised a zero-tolerance to corruption policy at City Hall. She also announced that more areas of focus, including the concerns about the KCCA budget will be revealed through the initial meetings that she intends to hold with the different directorates, divisions, political leadership, and the different interest groups in Kampala.

To her staff, she said: “I come with an open mind and will give everyone who is willing to work for the development of the city a chance as we endeavour to make Kampala a preferred destination. Let us join hands to improve the city’s infrastructure, safety, and overall livability while laying the groundwork for sustainable long-term growth.

The KCCA bosses

Sharifah Buzeki: Buzeki has been the commissioner of Human Resource Management, heading the Department of Human Resource Management in the Ministry of Local Government, the Department of Public Service Inspection and Quality Assurance and the Department of Human Resource Policies and Procedures in the Ministry of Public Service. She has accomplished tasks, including championing the cascading of the balanced scorecard approach to managing performance in local governments.

She spearheaded the documentation of service delivery standards for services offered in local governments, revamped the inspection function of government and headed the technical committee on the Review of the 2010 Edition of the Uganda Public Service Standing Orders giving rise to the 2021 Edition.

Ms Buzeki also championed the application of the balanced scorecard in assessing the performance of Public Service institutions and she has been a technical advisor to Makerere University on human resource management and labour harmony Ms Buzeki holds a Master’s in Public Administration and Management from Islamic University in Uganda.

She also completed the Administrative Officer’s Law Course from the Law Development Centre. She has a Postgraduate Diploma in Human Resources Management from Islamic University in Uganda and a Bachelor of Arts Social Sciences still from Islamic University in Uganda. Ms Buzeki is a member of associations that include Chartered Human Management Policy Analyst, Human Resource Managers Association of Uganda (HRMAU), Uganda Public Service Human Resource Manager’s Network (UPSHRMNet) and is an alumnus of Female Future Leadership programme.

Benon Kigenyi: Mr Kigenyi has been undersecretary in the Ministry of East African Community. He served in several ministries before joining the Ministry of Local Government where he served as undersecretary in charge of finance and administration.

Mr Kigenyi also served in the Ministry of Public Service as a senior public officer and worked as an Undersecretary in the Ministry of Gender, Labour, and Social Development. He also worked in the Office of the Prime Minister, Ministry of Gender, Labour and Uganda Land Commission.

Kigenyi holds a master’s degree in Public Sector Management and is instrumental as a student mobiliser and strategist for many university initiatives, including organising a successful International Youth Conference in 1998 as the secretary general. Mr Kigenyi is among the founders of Harambee Youth MHA with a long history of youth humanitarian and social support activities spanning from his years at Makerere University.

What key players say…

Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago: "Museveni is on a chess board to look for someone who can help him to regain his political mileage within the city but the main issues which are likely to challenge the new team is the budget cut, currently we have Shs803b but in the next financial year 2025/2026 it has been totally reduced to Shs555b. The key priorities include markets, fixing drainage channels and roads, all these were not captured in the budget."

Frank Nyakaana Rusa, outgoing Acting KCCA ED: "For now what I can do is to congratulate her. KCCA is a serious institution which does a lot of work. It is a huge assignment and it speaks a lot when the appointing authority selects you as a KCCA boss. What I can say as an outgoing acting ED, we will do everything within our power to support her and team to start off well and build on the achievements."

Daniel Nuwabine, Spokesperson KCCA: "As KCCA staff we are excited because we know what it means to have people in the acting capacity because their certain things that may not move with commitment because of uncertainty, but now that we have substantive leaders coming in, we are ready to support them."

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Autor(en)/Author(s): Shabibah Nakirigya

Quelle/Source: Monitor, 27.12.2024

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