Uganda Polls: Museveni to use new city status in drumming support from Masaka

National Resistance Movement party presidential candidate, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, is today scheduled in Masaka district for a scientific campaign meeting. Museveni will today address NRM leaders and party flag bearers from districts of Masaka, Sembabule, Kalangala,  Kalungu, Bukomansimbi and  Lwengo to preach the NRM party success story and ask for support ahead of 2021 polls.

Masaka, a district in the central region (Buganda), has nine sub-counties, 37 parishes and 442 villages. Under NRM government, Masaka has grown by leaps and bounds with the latest achievement being the elevation of Masaka municipality to a city.

In health, the district has a total number of 33 health centre IIs, 12 health centre IIIs, 2 health centre IVs, 2 hospitals and 1 regional referral hospital.

MasakaReferral hospital offers all services expected of a regional referral health facility. The hospital’s catchment is spread across eight districts of Masaka, Rakai, Lyantonde, Lwengo, Ssembabule, Bukomamnsimbi, Kalungu and Kalagala, taking care of over four million people.

In education, the district has over 300 schools of which 171 are Primary Schools, 32 Secondary Schools, 1 Business, Technical, Vocational Education and Training (BTVET) School, 2 Tertiary institutions of higher learning and 2 Teachers College Schools.

Through the ministry of Local government, Masaka municipality was elevated to city status and this was effected on July 1^st 2020. 

Uganda’s Vision 2040 envisages an urbanized Uganda, an ambitious plan that seeks to elevate it to middle-income status. There’s no doubt that the future of Uganda’s growth will continue to lie in new cities which will be Strategic and Regional.

Through the Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development (USMID) programme funded by the World Bank, six roads have been widened with solar-powered lights installed. The revamped road network in Masaka measure 5.14km and they include Yellow Knife road, Edward Avenue, Jethabhai Street, Alex Ssebowa and Katwe.

Other roads which have been lined up for construction include; Nyendo- Cathedral Road, Villa Road, Nyendo Market Circular, Birch Avenue /Hill road, Kyewalyange /Nalubaale street, Barracks Road and Kampala road/ Elgin Street. The project will equally cover the street lighting of Nyendo–Kitovu Road, Villa Road and a section of Bukakkata Road.

Under the programme, a total of 73 urban roads that make up 39.09km were rehabilitated to asphalt concrete standards, with walkways, bicycle lanes to cater for all road users in the urban centre. 

The roads are also fitted with solar lights to cater for safety and reduce on gender-based violence and crime that may crop up in the urban centres.

Government has upgraded major markets across the country to modern standards, for increased job opportunities for Ugandans in the informal sector. Shs250 billion was acquired for the construction of 11 new modern markets in eleven distinct and Masaka is among the beneficiary district from this initiative. The initiative has also enhanced the income of market vendors and also improving local revenue collection for improved service delivery.

The access to clean safe water in the district varies from 46% in Kyesiiga Sub County to 95% in Bukakata Sub County; the district has 724 domestic water points which serve a total of 232,945 people to 179,451 in rural areas.