Kampala Capital City Act, 2011

The Act comes into force on a date appointed by the Minister, and the Minister may appoint different commencement dates for different provisions.

This section supplies definitions for terms used in the Act, including "Authority", "Capital City", "councilor", "currency point", "Lord Mayor", "lower urban council", "mayor", "Metropolitan area", "Metropolitan Authority" and "Minister".

Kampala is declared the capital city of Uganda; the capital city shall be administered by the central government in accordance with article 5 of the Constitution.

The Act declares the Capital City's territorial boundary as set out in the Second Schedule; entities that immediately before commencement were local governments in that area shall cease to be local governments; and the Minister may (with specified consultations and approvals) create divisions, ward and village urban councils within the Capital City and alter their boundaries.

A person may not be elected as Lord Mayor or Deputy Lord Mayor unless they are qualified to be elected as a member of Parliament.

The Lord Mayor has specified leadership, representational, administrative oversight and ceremonial functions and must be answerable to the Authority and the Minister; the Deputy Lord Mayor must assist and deputise.

The Authority may remove the Lord Mayor or Deputy Lord Mayor by a resolution supported by not less than two-thirds of all members; removal processes include petitions by at least one-third of members, ministerial constitution of a tribunal, medical board procedures for incapacity, and rights to appear, representation and appeal.

Requires the Electoral Commission to demarcate electoral areas for certain directly elected councillors and states that the Local Governments Act applies, with modifications, to these elections.

The procedure for removal of a councillor in the Local Government Act shall apply to removal of a councillor under the Kampala City Council Authority.

The Fourth Schedule applies to meetings of the Authority and to other matters provided for in that Schedule.

The Authority must appoint standing committees (limited by number of directorates) whose functions include overseeing directorates, approving work plans, reporting, reviewing bills, reporting to council and budget recommendations; committees may co‑opt persons, members may be paid allowances with Ministerial approval, councillors are elected to committees by simple majority, membership can be changed as prescribed, and members hold office for one year.

The President must appoint the executive director on the advice of the Public Service Commission; candidates must have high moral character, proven integrity, and be qualified to be a Permanent Secretary in a Government Ministry.

The President may remove the executive director, on the advice of the Public Service Commission, for infirmity, misbehavior or misconduct, incompetence, corruption, or a breach of the Leadership Code of Conduct that includes vacation of office as punishment.

The executive director must perform specified administrative, financial, coordination and reporting functions for the Authority, including heading administration, acting as accounting officer, managing public funds, implementing policies and presenting the annual budget.

The Capital City shall have division, ward and village urban councils, and there shall also be street committees under the Authority.

Establishes the Kampala Capital City Authority as a corporate body that governs and administers the Capital City and may sue or be sued.

Sets the membership composition of the Authority and requires councillors to be Ugandan citizens.

The Authority must perform a range of governance functions for Kampala Capital City, including policy formulation, setting service standards, taxation, service monitoring, legislation, economic development, infrastructure works, planning and development control, registration of residents, and other functions assigned by central government.

The Authority may make ordinances; it must follow a procedure including passing local bills, forwarding bills to the Attorney General through the Minister before the Lord Mayor signs them, and the Minister must return bills within ninety days if they conflict with the Constitution or other law. Every member may introduce a bill.

Establishes the offices of Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor; Lord Mayor to appoint Deputy from Authority members with Authority approval; both offices serve full time; Lord Mayor elected by universal adult suffrage via secret ballot at an election organized by the Electoral Commission.

The Minister may remove a member of the Metropolitan Authority in the public interest on grounds such as infirmity, misbehavior, incompetence, or corruption.

The Metropolitan Authority is responsible for preparing and overseeing metropolitan physical development plans, ensuring land use follows designated plans, preparing integrated plans with lower urban councils, submitting quarterly and annual reports to the Minister, and the central government must pay compensation where land is required for public use; the Authority may veto inconsistent plans.

The Capital City shall have a Resident City Commissioner appointed by the President; an appointee must be a Ugandan citizen and qualified to be a member of Parliament.

The Resident City Commissioner has listed mandatory functions (e.g. represent the President, coordinate services, chair security committee, advise and monitor the Authority) and discretionary powers (e.g. sensitise the populace, request audits, draw attention to investigations, consult and address the Authority).

The President may determine the number of deputy or Resident City Commissioner representatives; deputy or assistant Resident City Commissioners must assist the central government in carrying out the office's functions in a specified area; the Public Service Commission may determine other officers and staff in consultation with the Ministry responsible for the public service.

The Minister may recommend to the President the removal of a Resident City Commissioner or a deputy or assistant Resident City Commissioner, stating the grounds for the recommendation.

There is a deputy executive director of the Authority appointed by the President on the advice of the Public Service Commission; appointees must have high moral character, proven integrity and be qualified to be a Permanent Secretary; the President may remove the deputy executive director under the circumstances set out in section 18.

The Authority must have the directorates described in Part A of the Fifth Schedule to this Act.

The President (with advice from the relevant Commissions) and the three named Commissions may appoint and confirm staff for the Capital City; the Ministry responsible must prescribe their terms and conditions; teachers are treated as part of the education service.

The Metropolitan Police Force must comprise persons appointed under the Police Act and trained by the Uganda Police Force; the Minister may make regulations by statutory instrument on the recommendation of the Police Authority to regulate the Force.

The Authority must plan the Capital City, follow procedures under the National Planning Authority Act in addition to its own procedures, prepare a comprehensive integrated Capital City development plan (including lower urban councils) for submission to the National Planning Authority and the Metropolitan Authority; division urban councils within the Capital City must prepare local plans; the Authority's functions under this section are limited to socio-economic planning.

Establishes a Capital City technical planning committee chaired by the executive director, lists its members, and requires the committee to coordinate and integrate directorate plans for presentation to the Authority.

The Authority must have a planning unit; the council's directorate responsible for economic planning must constitute that planning unit and serve as secretariat to the Capital City technical planning committee.

The Authority must prepare, approve and carry out balanced budgets that prioritize national priority programme areas; the Local Government Finance Commission must notify the Authority and the President if a budget significantly detracts from those priorities; the Authority's budget must show all revenues and consider the central government's approved development plan for the next year.

The Authority may levy, charge, collect and appropriate various fees and taxes subject to laws enacted by Parliament under article 152; it may collect on behalf of the Government as agent, with a portion retained as determined by the Minister in consultation with the finance Minister; extra obligations transferred to the Authority must be financed by the Government.

The Authority's financial year runs from 1 July to 30 June the following year.

The Authority may not appropriate funds or allow withdrawals or have financial obligations imposed without required approvals or funding.

The President must lay before Parliament annual estimates from the Consolidated Fund specifying unconditional, conditional and equalisation grants; the Authority must indicate how conditional and equalisation grants are passed to division urban councils; proposals under subsection (1) must be timed with article 155 estimates and included in the Appropriation Bill under article 156.

The Authority may, with the Minister's approval, borrow (by debenture, bonds or other methods) subject to a limit of ten per cent of its locally generated revenue and demonstration of ability to meet statutory obligations; the Authority may also accept and use grants with the Minister's approval.

The Authority must seek guidance and expertise from the Local Government Finance Commission on resource mobilisation and sharing of central government grants and revenue for the Capital City and lower urban councils, and must seek guidance and technical support from other specialised government agencies in managing its finances and operations.

Members of Parliament and Ministers must not, concurrently with their parliamentary or ministerial office, hold the office of Lord Mayor, Deputy Lord Mayor or councillor in the Authority.

Specified office-holders (Lord Mayor, Deputy Lord Mayor, councillors of the Authority, mayor, deputy mayor, chairpersons and councillors of lower urban councils, and street committee members) must hold office for five years after their election as councillors and are eligible for re-election.

The Minister must determine the remuneration payable to the Lord Mayor, Deputy Lord Mayor and councillors of the Authority and to the mayor, deputy mayor, chairperson and councillors of a lower urban council.

Grants the Minister power to modify other enactments for the Authority (with Parliament's approval), and requires the Authority and division urban councils in the Capital City to impose, levy and collect rates under the Rating Act.

Section grants the Minister multiple powers over the Authority (including varying or rescinding Authority decisions with Cabinet approval, instituting inquiries, appointing/removing members, receiving reports, issuing directives, vetoing decisions, directing the Authority in writing, delegating powers) and requires the Authority to comply with and give effect to Ministerial directives.

Persons holding political or public office in the Authority who direct or concur in the use of public funds contrary to law or to existing instructions must be accountable and must make good any loss from that use, even if they have ceased to hold that office.

Acts or omissions done in good faith by specified Authority members or staff shall not render those persons personally liable to civil action, claim or demand.

The Minister may make regulations by statutory instrument and must lay such instruments before Parliament as soon as practicable after publication; regulations may create offences punishable by a fine up to 200 currency points, imprisonment up to five years, or both.

The Minister may amend specified Schedules to the Act by statutory instrument subject to approval (Cabinet for First, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules; Parliament for the Second Schedule).

This Act must not be interpreted to affect enactments relating to presidential and parliamentary elections or the demarcation of constituencies by the Electoral Commission.

Transitional rules transferring certain rights and responsibilities from the former Kampala City Council to the Authority, preserving existing licences and offices, allowing the Authority to employ eligible council employees, and assigning responsibility for unpaid retirement and severance benefits to the Government.