Journal of
African Studies and Development

  • Abbreviation: J. Afr. Stud. Dev
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 2141-2189
  • DOI: 10.5897/JASD
  • Start Year: 2009
  • Published Articles: 240

Full Length Research Paper

Reclaiming the role of the state in urban infrastructural development for inclusive communities: The case of Uganda’s Kampala City

Stella Baketuraki Kyohairwe
  • Stella Baketuraki Kyohairwe
  • Department of Political and Administrative Science, Uganda Management Institute, Uganda.
  • Google Scholar
Gerald Kagambirwe Karyeija
  • Gerald Kagambirwe Karyeija
  • Department of Political and Administrative Science, Uganda Management Institute, Uganda.
  • Google Scholar


  •  Received: 26 March 2024
  •  Accepted: 02 June 2024
  •  Published: 30 September 2024

Abstract

Matching infrastructural development with the pace of urban population growth is a challenge in African cities, where the speed and magnitude of urban growth are incessant. Uganda is facing accelerated urbanization, but developing urban infrastructure for inclusive communities has become particularly challenging due to the disequilibrium of decentralized urban planning, manifested through myriad autonomy and jurisdictional contradictions. The 1995 Ugandan constitution created private land ownership and abolished land leases by urban authorities, making it difficult and costly for the state to acquire land and promote infrastructural development as desired in terms of cost, quality, and time. The central argument of this study is that inclusive infrastructural development significantly contributes towards the achievement of sustainable development goals as designated in SDG 11. Over the years, there seems to be a retreat of the state, manifested by the decline of state authority in urban infrastructural development. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the resurgence of the state in urban development beyond regulation, aiming at a future with cities that provide opportunities for all in an environment of improved infrastructure to foster macroeconomic stability and growth.

 

Key words: Infrastructural development, sustainable development goals, inclusive communities.