1. CONTEXT
Government of Uganda’s ambition, captured in Uganda’s Vision 2040; is to make the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area (GMKA), one of the most attractive cities in the world, offering its citizens and visitors a safe and efficient city environment. Kampala is the 13th fastest growing urban centre in the world, with the Jinja-Kampala-Entebbe (JKE) corridor accounting for more than 60 percent of Uganda’s GDP.
Major urban challenges exist. These include: a crippling transportation system leading to excessive transaction and movement costs; 90 percent of the urban population is employed informally; 70 percent of the urban population resides in informal settlements; only eight percent of urban dwellers have access to water-borne sanitation systems; generally, they lack access to reliable and affordable power.
It is therefore urgent to improve the connectivity and productivity of urban municipalities in the JKE corridor for all citizens, as a driver to strengthen Uganda’s economic growth.
In this context, the UK Government has launched the Cities and Infrastructure for Growth (CIG) programme to support the Government of Uganda to unlock its urban potential. This will result in enhanced inclusive economic growth, leading to job creation, poverty reduction and a conducive environment for other donor and private investment.
2. ABOUT CITIES AND INFRASTRUCTURE FOR GROWTH
CIG Uganda is a five-year UK Government funded programme implemented by Cardno International Development with partners Genesis, ORI and Riccardo. The CIG programme aims to reduce poverty by:
• Supporting inclusive economic development and structural transformation, and
• Building the enabling environment for investment into urban, energy and infrastructure sectors.
The programme will focus on the JKE corridor, with an initial emphasis on Greater Kampala. However, it also recognises the strategic importance of Jinja as a key East African trade route and a designated industrial city.
3. PROGRAMME DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES
The CIG Uganda programme aims to enhance the country’s economic growth, leading to job creation and poverty reduction through:
• enhanced urban productivity that will allow cities to benefit from the economies of scale, the idea of agglomeration;
• improved access to reliable and affordable power to support the increase in trade, productivity and private sector development;
• improved infrastructure services, and
• better asset and financial management for sustainable investment into services.
4. PROGRAMME FOCUS AREAS
CIG is in its first two-year phase of implementation. The agreed scope of interventions include;
• Urban infrastructure
• Energy
• Project financing
• Municipal planning
This will each include the cross-cutting dimensions of (a) gender and social inclusion*, (b) climate change and natural resource management and (c) GIS as a local municipal tool
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