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Presenter: Henry Clarke Kisembo

Topic: Managing traffic flow in Kampala, Uganda through Public Private Partnerships.

Preamble:

Kampala, a city of now 3 million people, today the capital of Uganda (Entebbe had been the

capital for many years during the colonial days), a city built on seven hills and now spreading

way beyond. One thing you will note upon arrival is how green Kampala is and the long lanes of

cars caused by the traffic jam in and out of the city that stretches up to 10 kilometers. During

peak hours one can spend up to 2 hours driving 10 kilometers in and out of the city; this bustling

town is alive, filled with activities from business to cultural. Kampala reflects the heart of Africa,

Uganda. Though faced by th ever increasing Jam caused by different factors among them the

city’s monocentric structure. As a single centered and poorly planned city, Kampala cannot exist

without traffic jam.

Government through the Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) has endeavored to devise

ways of curbing the traffic jam including the introduction of town buses that carry up to 40

passengers at a time, introducing one way or single way roads, having organized bus and taxi

stops; however this has not helped reduce the traffic jam with an ever increasing importation of

used cars (currently there are over 500,000 registered cars in Kampala city), Poorly planned

roads and buildings, Reckless driving and motor cycling and an ever growing population in

Kampala due to rural urban migration and increasing high rise buildings that are being developed

each day for commercial and residential purposes.

Background and Situation Analysis:

Single centred cities experience traffic jam in part because of the tendency to concentrate

business activities in one area, especially the city centre, Kampala is no exception. For example,

most business activities such as commercial banks, insurance companies, hotels, restaurants and

shopping centres are located in the city centre.

Still, a large number of people living in peri-urban areas such as Ntinda, Kawempe, Bugorobi,

Bwaise and Natette drive or use private transport everyday to reach their workstations, which are

located in the city centre;

Added to this is the flood of motor vehicles in the city and its suburbs. Statistics show that 70

percent of all motor vehicles in Uganda (Uganda currently has about 500,000 motor vehicles) are

registered in Kampala; Other official figures also indicate that 90 percent of the 10,000

minibuses operating in Kampala are providing downtown service (The Kampala Traffic

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Improvement Project, 2002). Unlike buses, minibuses cannot transport a large number of people.

Minibuses also occupy a much bigger road space than the conventional buses.

In short, the reliance on private transport (especially private cars) as well as the low capacity

minibuses has not only increased the demand for road space but also contributed to the

burgeoning traffic jam in Kampala.

Also worthy of mention is the lack of a coordinated approach towards land use and transport

planning. With unplanned and scattered settlements as well as low urban population densities in

Kampala, it is almost impossible to establish an efficient and congestion-free transport system.

However, government has made several attempts to alleviate traffic jam in Kampala city. Among

them is the use of traffic police to guide motorists using heavily congested roads especially those

that are connecting major suburbs to the city centre.

Another measure is the removing of some old roundabout and replacing them with traffic lights.

Important also, is the implementation of the Northern Bypass Road Project (NBRP). NBRP is a

donor funded project and was scheduled to be completed before CHOGM. Its primary objective

is to divert some traffic generated by the heavy trucks away from the city centre.

Unfortunately, these measures have not done much in easing traffic jams. And so there is need to

explore and adopt a more viable solution to this problem.

The problem however is that most developing country cities including Kampala lack the

necessary institutional capacity and skilled manpower to apply an interdisciplinary approach in

tackling complex and intractable problems such as traffic congestion.

There is need to recognize that high urban population densities demand services such as those

offered by the conventional buses and trains.

Studies conducted in Singapore and Hong Kong also show that besides high population densities

(Hong Kong for example, has a population density of 301 persons per hectare), transport policy

in form of car restraint measures (high fuel taxes and prices, high road toll charges) have eased

this burden.

Also turning the cities into pedestrian friendly, area licensing schemes in case of Singapore, high

parking fees, control of the supply of car parking spaces and control of car ownership in case of

Singapore) was crucial in discouraging the use of private cars, promoting public transport and

reducing traffic jam.

However, in the absence of a convenient, reliable and accessible public transport service in

Kampala, it would be unwise to rush and institute car restraint measures such as those in

Singapore and Hong Kong. Moreover, the car restraint policy may not always be feasible

because of the presence of a strong car lobby as well as the lack of commitment and political will

to implement it.

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Another more viable way of tackling traffic jam in Kampala would be to set up satellite cities

(condominium type settlements) in areas far away from the city centre such as Maganjo, Nsimbe,

Kiwatule, Ntinda and Bugorobi with all the necessary facilities and infrastructure such as

schools, hospitals, modern restaurants and hotels, shopping centres, recreation facilities, banking

facilities and industrial facilities. But like car restraint, this proposal needs commitment and

political will.

Last but not least is the idea of building high density residential buildings within the city centre

with all the necessary facilities (shopping facilities, parking facilities, swimming pools and

restaurants) and encourage commuters living in the suburbs to live in the city centre where their

workstations are.

The performance of public transport systems in Kampala could also be enhanced by adopting the

following strategies:

Establishment of the national public transport development fund

Building transit supportive infrastructure such as bus terminals, bus lanes and bus stops

Establishment of a separate directorate for public transport planning, management and

regulation under KCCA

Formulation of a pro-public transport policy

Offering long concession periods for bus operators ( for example 10 years) to be able to

recoup their investments Above all, the lacklustre performance of bus companies in

Kampala and Uganda in general provides strong reasons for doing things differently, that

is, in more effective and less wasteful ways.

The Case for Public Private Partnership:

The Government of Uganda has solely taken up the management of roads and transport

sector many times renovating and putting in place short term solutions utilizing donor funds

or loans from the World Bank and other financing institutions with limited participation of

the private sector in the endeavours; as such a need for increased and participatory Public

Private Partnerships in the Transport sector Management in Kampala city.

The identified issues include:

1. Infrastructure assets are insufficient; they are often poorly selected and maintained

resulting in inefficient and/or ineffective delivery of services. There are four issues that

contribute to the infrastructure gap:

a. insufficient funds

b. poor planning and selection

c. inefficient delivery and

d. inadequate maintenance

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2. The consequences of inadequate infrastructure do result in congestion and shortages.

There is also evidence that the infrastructure gap actually does slow down

industrialization. However, the lack of infrastructure means that Uganda is less able to

conduct business and attract investment. The result of being unable to tap economic

opportunities is constrained economic growth.

3. The Government of Uganda has not opened up the transport system management to the

Private Sector wholly yet The private sector as partner in a PPP contract has several

benefits which include additional sources of funding, innovative approaches, technical

expertise and maintenance of the assets; though Government tried an arrangement with

the Pioneer Bus Company, the company just handled a third of the problem and actually

the company went into receivership thus the need for procurement standards being

reviewed and the contracting being clear on the expectations of the partnership.

4. The transport management in Kampala needs to be attractive to the private partner and

should make commercial sense to both the Government and Private partner and should as

well be supported by the political will to have long term and lasting solutions to the

transport system as opposed to short term solutions as has been witnessed in Uganda.

5. Uganda has suffered corruption tendencies and the transport and traffic control sector has

not been left out, this is witnessed in the way some contracts were awarded and

withdrawn for example the contract to UTODA, Pioneer bus company and also the

Multiplex parking contol; these criteria should be made public and open to local and

international bidders; though Uganda has Public Procurement and Disposable Act and a

fully fledged authority body, the contracting processes are never shared with all

stakeholders including consumers who in turn have to pay for services which services

they are not willing to pay for many times.

The key issues to harmonise and embrace for a successful transport management and traffic

control PPPare:

1. Commercial viability

2. Contracting

3. Political will

4. Strengthening of the Private Sector

5. Offering of concessions

6. Have a very clear PPP Frame work and should be known by the parties and also the

consumers.

7. Profitability of the Project

8. Buy in of the population (Ability and Willingness to pay

Conclusion:

To have a viable and vibrant results driven efficient, effective and productive transport

management and traffic control in Uganda, understanding PPPs role in delivering better services

need to be harmonized and embraced and follow best PPP practices; thus providing a planned

transport system in Uganda.

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http://www.lifetimesafaris.com/Kampala_City_Information_and_Guide.php

The Kampala traffic report 2014