KAMPALA – UGANDA June 24 [SHIFTMEDIA] As Uganda’s population swells—now estimated by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) to be over 45 million with a growth rate of 3.4%—the strain on urban infrastructure deepens. Nowhere is this pressure more visible than in Kampala, a city grappling with the dual challenges of rapid urbanization and increasing climate-related disasters.
Flash floods, choking traffic congestion, and poorly maintained road networks remain familiar scenes to city dwellers. Despite multiple government-led urban development plans such as the 2003 Kampala Urban Transport Improvement Plan (KUTIP), the 2009 Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area (GKMA) Master Plan, and the ongoing Kampala City Roads Rehabilitation Project (KCRRP), many question why the capital still lags in offering adequate public services.
With billions in loans pouring into infrastructure projects—including a $183.7 million World Bank loan and another $288 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB)—scrutiny has intensified on how public infrastructure projects are selected and appraised, especially those aligned with climate finance objectives.
Now, a pilot initiative dubbed the “Responsible Infrastructure Project” is led by CoST Uganda. A chapter of the CoST Infrastructure Transparency Initiative hopes that by pushing for the public release of appraisal reports, project assessments, and climate impact analyses, they can empower communities to actively participate in shaping their urban futures.
“We want to assess if the recommended 32 Open Contracting for Infrastructure Data Standards (OC4IDs) can provide enough information on how infrastructure projects are selected,” said a CoST Uganda official.
The initiative, in partnership with Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), has modeled 32 data points/indicators of Open Contracting for Infrastructure Data Standards (OC4IDS) while assessing whether they provide sufficient information on how infrastructure projects are selected and appraised. Having sufficient data on project selection shall optimize transparency in infrastructure development, a sector long criticized for opaque procurement processes and limited community involvement.
