KAMPALA, Uganda — Uganda’s capital and business hub, Kampala, is grappling with severely deteriorated infrastructure, particularly its road network, highlighting chronic underfunding and planning deficiencies.
The city’s over 1.5 million residents contend daily with pothole-filled roads, crippling traffic congestion, rising vehicle repair expenses, and increasing accident rates, all exacerbated by seasonal heavy rains and inadequate drainage. The urgent need for a more realistic and fully funded budget for Kampala is now a daily struggle for its inhabitants.
Rain transforms patched-up potholes into muddy pools, obscuring hazards and creating dangerous driving conditions that slow traffic to a crawl, causing kilometers-long gridlocks.
“I spend more time in garages than on the road lately,” said Isama Matovu, a ride-hailing driver operating on Kampala’s busiest routes. “The roads in Entebbe are smooth, but once you cross into Kampala, it’s terrible. You can’t do more than two trips a day without hitting a significant pothole or getting stuck in traffic.”
For those reliant on transport for their livelihoods, the costs are becoming unsustainable. Godfrey Kabuusa, a former commuter taxi driver on the Entebbe–Kampala route, reported being forced out of business due to vehicle maintenance costs exceeding his earnings. “I spent close to sh400,000 every time the vehicle needed repairs,” he said. “My boss finally told me it was no longer profitable and I had to look for other work.”
Despite the infrastructure crisis, the proposed 2025/2026 budget for the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) is 827.7 billion shillings, a slight increase from the 803 billion shillings allocated in 2024/25. However, a significant portion of the 574.6 billion shillings earmarked for infrastructure development, 462.6 billion shillings, is expected to come from external sources, primarily donors. The central government’s direct contribution to this critical sector is only 127.9 billion shillings, less than a quarter of the infrastructure allocation.
KCCA officials noted that many unfunded priorities include essential services like road rehabilitation, waste management, education, and healthcare, which directly impact residents’ daily lives but receive insufficient attention.
City Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago has been vocal about the funding disparities, advocating for a more equitable approach to Kampala’s development financing. “Kampala generates a lot of revenue from its dwellers and businesses, yet government’s contribution remains minimal,” Lukwago said during the budget presentation. He pointed out that only 147 billion shillings is allocated for road network improvements, far below the necessary level. “This persistent underfunding undermines our efforts. If we continue down this path, Kampala’s vision of becoming a smart, sustainable city will remain a distant dream.”
The road maintenance situation is particularly dire, with the Uganda Road Fund (URF) reducing its allocation to Kampala from 26.8 billion shillings in 2021/22 to just 10 billion shillings for both the current and upcoming fiscal years. KCCA estimates that at least 55 billion shillings annually is needed to maintain the city’s 2,014-kilometer road network, drainage, bridges, and street lighting. Currently, only 273 kilometers of Kampala’s roads are in good condition, while over 1,300 kilometers are unpaved and 348 kilometers are classified as “very poor.”
Other critical sectors also face underfunding. The catastrophic waste slide at the Kitezi landfill highlighted the long-standing crisis in solid waste management. Despite an urgent request for 108 billion shillings for a new landfill and related needs, the waste management budget remained at 10 billion shillings. While the finance ministry pledged 13 billion shillings towards land for a new landfill, a significant shortfall remains, leading to continued garbage accumulation.
Market development, crucial for employment and food security, has been allocated a meager 500 million shillings across all five city divisions, insufficient to address the need for secure and well-maintained marketplaces. Healthcare and education systems also suffer from overcrowding and under-resourcing.
The Kampala City Traders Association (KACITA) has joined calls for increased funding, with chairperson Thaddeus Musoke emphasizing the need for full government support commensurate with the local revenue generated by the city.
Experts warn that without urgent budget prioritization and a revised financing strategy, Kampala risks significant urban decay, impacting not only the city’s development but also Uganda’s national growth through high transport costs, reduced investor confidence, and a declining quality of life. As the city’s current strategic plan concludes, a critical opportunity exists for central government, development partners, and city authorities to collaborate on a budget that reflects Kampala’s urgent needs.
