by monitor
Africa-Press – Uganda. Recently, a high-ranking government official stomped into Jinja City and issue roadside pronouncements that reversed directives that had led to the removal of kiosks, chapatti makers and roadside food vendors from the streets.
Jinja has since been plunged back into the mess and disorganisation of yester years. Unlicensed commercial activity is impending the practice of commercial licensed activities. Businesses that pay taxes are losing out to those who do not. This is certain to affect revenue collection.
The unlicensed operator are also inconveniencing motorists and pedestrians. Many of them encroach on roads causing traffic congestion in the central business district. They also encroach on pedestrian walkways and alleys, which turns movement along the streets into a careful manoeuvre past charcoal stoves and pots of simmering soup.
These unlicensed operators also generate huge amounts of waste, including, among others, polythene bags in which they pack cheap juice and drinking water for sale to their clients; banana leaves in which they wrap their food; ash from charcoal and; bones from the beef and chicken that they sale. That this increases a cash strapped city’s challenges around waste management, or that this garbage ends up clogging the drains, which causes flooding and subsequently affects road surfaces when the garbage is not collected in time should not be rocket science to a high-ranking government officials.
It is high time Cabinet adopted minimum standards guiding the conduct of its officials, especially in as far as guiding “lesser authorities” on how they conduct their business.
Cities and urban centres are meant to be highly organised places. Commercial activities must conform to defined set standards, which is what the Jinja City authorities was trying to enforce until the said government official came in.
Such populist politics can only perpetuate disorganisation and undermine efforts at development and modernisation. This is unacceptable.
This is unfortunately not the first time that it has happened. As executive director of Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA), Ms Jennifer Musisi, presided over drastic efforts to make a better place to work and live in. Her methods may have been questionable, but she worked to rid the city of garbage, dust, floods and congestion.
Roads in suburbs like Ntinda, Bulange, Bugolobi, Makindye, Kyebando got facelifts. New market structures and medical facilities came up. Vendors were forced off the streets.
Kampala had not reached there, but it was on the way. The journey unfortunately came to an end because of populist politics. Other cities’ efforts at organisation should not suffer a similar fate.
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