Kampala city mayor hails support of the Covenant!

The Lord Mayor of Kampala Capital City Authority, Hon. Erias Lukwago has said he is happy with the support received from the Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa since Kampala joined the initiative in 2015 – leading to the development of a Sustainable Energy Access and Climate Action Plan for the city.

Hon. Lukwago was speaking to some implementers of the Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa (CoM SSA), who paid him a courtesy visit on Tuesday, 26 February 2019, on the sidelines of the initiative’s third Implementation Committee meeting that held in the East African city.

Deputy Mayor of KCCA (L) shakes hands with Ms Juliet Sale, member of the Com SSA implementation Committee, while Mr Durmish Guri (R) shakes hands with Hon. Erias Lukwago

“Thank you a lot for the effort on your side to support Kampala and its plan. Now, it is time to implement our plan. It is very ambitious,” said Mayor Lukwago, adding that he is very proud of the committed team at Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) that developed the action plan for a vibrant, attractive and sustainable city.

“The next phase of this initiative will be a brilliant opportunity to get Kampala’s action plan into implementation,” added Mayor Lukwago.

According to the Mayor, KCCA is working on the Kampala City Green Infrastructure Ordinance in a bid to enhance and achieve a healthier environment. It seeks to provide guidelines for setting up well-planned and managed green infrastructure to harness multiple benefits. Green Infrastructure includes trees, vegetation, green roofs, parks, wetlands, infrastructure corridors, vacant lots, among others.

The CoM SSA delegation lauded the Mayor and his team for the gains made and invited the city of Kampala to join other pilot cities in the coming months to share their experiences towards climate resilience and ensuring access to clean energy.

“A key challenge now will be to promote investments. The European Commission wants bankable projects. We need to look for new business models, consider guarantee schemes and combine tools to accommodate challenges,” said Durmish Guri, Projects Director at Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) who led the CoM SSA delegation to KCCA.

(From Left to Right): Ms Juliet Sale, Regional Director for West Africa at United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa), Deputy Mayor of Kampala Capital City Authority – KCCA, Mr Erias Lukwago, Lord Mayor of Kampala Capital City Authority – KCCA, Mr Durmish Guri, Projects Director at Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) and Ms Eva Baños De Guisasola, Policy Adviser, Environment, Energy and Climate at CEMR.

The city of Kampala joined the Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa (CoM SSA) initiative in November 2015 and voluntarily committed to a long-term vision to provide access to sustainable and affordable energy, improve climate resilience and reduce the emission of Greenhouse Gas (GHG), by developing and implementing a Sustainable Energy Access and Climate Action Plan (SEACAP).

KCCA launched the Kampala action plan project in March 2017 as a road map for achieving the city’s sustainability ambitions. Mayor Lukwago said KCCA has achieved much under this project but solid waste management remains a major challenge.

Another member of the CoM SSA delegation to KCCA, Ms Eva Baños De Guisasola, Policy Adviser for Environment, Energy and Climate at CEMR stressed that it is important for Kampala and other pilot cities to uphold the work done around advocacy and multi-level governance.

“City to city cooperation is key in this action plan. Kampala as a green city can be a model for European cities as well, not only African ones,” emphasised Ms Baños.