THE
LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT IN KAMPALA
Kamarabe
john
Student
Ucu
law school
The
government system in Uganda is divided between the central government and the
local government. Central government is composed of the cabinet[1],
public corporations, Tribunal and Police while local government is restricted
in specified areas and powers. According to the Concise Law Dictionary[2]
to decentralize is to recognize into smaller more autonomous units and to
disperse. Decentralisation is the legal administrative and political transfer
of power and authority from the center to lower government[3].
The policy was the outcome of series of laws, and commissions’ conferences.
The
Local Government Act was enacted in
1987 with a view of affecting the principles of devolution and decentralisation
of powers to local government units. The Local
Government Act implements the principle that all power belongs to the
people as enshrined in the constitution[4].
It also puts in place systems which ensure that people through their duly
elected representatives remain in charge of planning, monitoring and execution
of all policies. Article 176 of the 1995
constitution of Uganda provides the principles applicable to the local government
system. It was enacted in line with Article
206
Before
the coming into force of the Kampala City Council Act, Kampala was administered
by Kampala city council. In 2010, the Kampala
City Council Act 2010 was enacted by the parliament to provide in
accordance with Article 5 of the constitution for Kampala as the capital city
of Uganda and also to provide for the administration of Kampala by the central
government. . The Local Government Act is different from the Kampala City Council Act 2010 because
of the following reasons
Differences
in the management system.
Under
the management system of the local government, there are local government
tender boards provided for under Section
91 of the Act. This board is responsible to provide services to the
district councils, county council and administrative units pursuant to Section 91 of the Act while in Kampala
City Council Act 2010, the board does not exist this has created a question in
courts on how one can endorse land transfer in Kampala.
Differences
in the composition structure
Section 10 of the LGA provides that the district councils
are composed of the district chairperson, one councilor directly elected to
represent an electoral area of a district, two councilors, one of whom shall be
female youth, excluding the representatives of professional bodies while the Kampala City Council Act 2010 consists
on one councilor representing each profession in Section 6 of the Act which include Uganda institution of
professional engineers, Uganda society of architects , Uganda medical
association and Uganda law society.
Under
decentralisation, power is transferred from the central government to the local
people. In the local Government Act under section
16, the district executive committee is composed of a large number of
executives which include the chairperson, vice chairperson, such number of
secretaries, not exceeding vice as the council may determine while the Kampala City Council Act 2010 only
consists of one executive who is the executive director[5]
to perform a number of functions hence limiting decentralisation. This implies
that that the local government act illustrates the large number of
participation of the people in decision making than the KCCA Act hence
decentralisation
Differences in legislative power
The
LGA confers powers to the council in
any ordinance to delegate its powers to legislate to a council[6]
this delegation principle allows the maximum participation of people in making
laws hence decentralisation while, in the Kampala City Council Act, there is no
such principle of delegation of powers but only limited to the authority
pursuant to section 8 of the Act
Differences
in the independence from the central government:
The
Kampala City Council Act 2010 expresses
that Kampala city is under the control of the central government as illustrated
by Article 5(4) of the constitution[7].
This implies that Kampala is still under the administration of the central
government since implementations of the authority is done by the central
government hence limited decentralisation. However, the LGA is made to ensure that power is transferred from the central
government to the local government pursuant to Article 176(2). The councils
duly implement, and manage the authority independently without the interference
of the central government under section 17 of the Act.
Differences in functions
Under
the KCCA Act, during the execution of the Executive Director's functions, he/she
makes reports to the council and the minister of state and minister of state
and affairs of the city under section 19. This means that the authority is not
independent since the accountability is in the hands of the central government
while, in the Local Government Act,
the chairperson makes the report to the council on the state of affairs of the
district under section 13 of the Act. This further shows that the local
government is independent of the central government
Differences in the executive powers
Under
Article 180 of the constitution of Uganda, the local government has both
executive and legislative powers but the executive powers only relate to the
formulation and implementation policies under section 17 of the Local
Government Act. Section 9 of the Act justifies the jurisdiction of the council
in the area in that the council has the highest corporate authority which
authority is only limited with in that area of jurisdiction. The local
government council does not exercise power beyond his/her geographical area
since doing such would be ultra vires. This was confirmed in UGMA ENGINEERING V LUGAZI TOWN COUNCIL[8]
where it was held that the local council cannot exercise powers beyond its
gazzeted units. Hence the central government authority is limited in the LGA since the executive committee is
appointed by the council it’s self. However, in the Kampala City Council Act,
the executive director appointed by the central government as the head of the
authority under section 19 this was emphasized in the case of Erias Lukwago The Lord Mayor V Jennifer Musisi The Executive
Director Misc No 116 Of 2011 where the justice held that the executive
director had more power than the lord mayor in the authority. She is vested
with power to execute the procurement and disposal process as provided by section
26[9]
of the PPDA act and section 19 of Kampala
City Council Act 2010 as agreed In Inyatsi
Construction Ltd Multi Plex Ltd V Kampala City Council Authority& Executive
Director Kampala City Council Authority[10].
The administrative power of the executive director is derived from the
president who is the appointing authority. The president is the same authority
that removes the executive director from office under sections 17 - 19 of the
Act
Differences in accountability.
In
the performance of their functions, the chairperson in the Local Government Act
is answerable to the district council under Section 13(4) while in the Kampala City Council Act; the lord mayor
is answerable to the authority and the Minister (central government) under section 11(2). This implies that in the
Local Government Act, the chairperson is independent of the central government
hence he makes decisions only with the people but in the Kampala City Council
Act, the lord mayor is not independent of the central government since he is
answerable to the minister which minister is a member of the central government
Differences in appointment
The
executive in the Kampala City Council
Act 2010 is appointed by the central government on the advice of the public
service commission under section 17(2) while the district executive committee
in the LGA is appointed by the
district council under Article 186 of the constitution. This means that well as
there is decentralisation in the Kampala City Council Authority, there is still
central government intervention since the executive director is appointed by
the president compared to the Local Government Act where the district council appoints
their executive committee independently
Difference in control from the
central government.
Under the local Government, the line
minister has limited powers to coordinate activities within a particular local
Government under Section 95 of the Local Government Act. The minister's mandate
is also limited to monitoring and coordinating government policies, advise
persons and organizations in relation to projects involving direct relations
with the local Government under section 97 of the Act, inspecting and
monitoring of local Government under section 98 of the Act but it does not go
beyond implementing and managing the authority to ensure that functions, powers
and responsibility are devolved and transferred from the government to local
Government units under Article 176 (2) of the constitution of Uganda. However,
under the Kampala City Council Act, the central government through the Executive
Director is given more jurisdiction in the control of the authority by heading
the authority and its administration section
19 (a) in conformity with Article (5) 4 of the Constitution of the
Republic of Uganda
It can therefore be argued that well
as the KCCA under the KCCA Act modifies the system of decentralisation in
Uganda, it is still under the control of the central government compared to the
local government authority in the Local Government Act which duly justifies
decentralization.
BIBLIOGRAPTHY
THE
1995 CONSTITUTION OF UGANDA AS AMENDED
THE
KAMPALA CITY COUNCIL AUTHORITY ACT 2010 CAP 281
THE
LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1997 CAP 243
THE PUBLIC
PROCUREMENT AND DISPOSAL OF PUBLIC
ASSETS
ACT, 2003
Decentralisation
and transformation of governance in uganda.
BY D. ASIIMWE & NOKANYIKE B.M FUNCTION
PUBLISHERS KAMPALA
Other sources
QUESTION:
THE KAMPALA CITY COUNCIL AUTHORITY
ACT(KCCA ACT) GREATLY MODIFIES THE IMPLEMENTATION OF DECENTRALISATION WITH
REGARDS TO KAMPALA CITY. ANALYZE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE KCCA UNDER THE
KCCA ACT AND OTHER LOCAL GOVERNMENTS STILL OPERATING UNDER THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT
ACT
[1] Article
111(1) 1995 constitution Uganda “there shall be a cabinet which shall consist
of the president, the vice president, the prime minister and such number of
ministers as may appear to the president to be reasonably necessary for the efficient
running of the state”.
[2] The concise law dictionary
[3] Decentralisation and transformation of governance in
Uganda. By D. Asiimwe & Nokanyike B.M function
publishers kampala
[4] Article 1(1) Constitution 1995 Uganda “all power
belongs o the people who shall exercise its sovereignty in accordance with this
constitution”
[5] section 17 of the KCCA Act 2010
[7] “The territory boundary of Buganda shall be the capital
city of Uganda and shall be administered by the central government”
[9] The accounting officer of a procuring and disposing
entity shall have shall have overall
responsibility for execution of the procurement ……..
[10] Inyatsi
Construction Ltd Multi Plex Ltd V Kampala City Council Authority& Executive
Director Kampala City Council Authority Miscellaneous Application No 290 of
2013
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