Opposition Politics and Urban Service Delivery in Kampala, Uganda

Abstract

Uganda, like other African countries, has implemented reforms to decentralize political authority to local governments and reintroduce multiparty elections. This combination creates opportunities for national partisan struggles to emerge in local arenas and influence local service delivery. This study explores how partisan politics affects urban service delivery in Uganda through an examination of service provision by Kampala City Council and recent reforms to recentralize control over Kampala. I find that partisan politics undermines service delivery Kampala in several ways, including through financing, tax policy, and even direct interference in the policies and decisions made by the city council