Examining public private partnerships as a strategy to provide housing for the urban poor in Kampala

Abstract

Kampala, the busiest and most populated urban centre in Uganda with a population of 3.65 million people as of 2022 has over 57 slums areas which has increased demand for basic needs especially housing, sanitation and health services among others (K Frank, 2022). The government has made efforts to better respond to the rising need by slum dwellers for housing by setting up institutions and the necessary legal, institutional and policy frameworks to provide housing to the slum dwellers of Kampala. These include; formulation of National Housing Policy, setting up of Housing Finance Bank, National Social Security Fund (NSSF) with its various housing projects such as Lubowa and Temangalo projects. Also, the formulation of Public Private Partnerships Act 2015, KCCA Act, setting up Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development (MLHUD) among others (Bidandi, 2015). Providing housing for the urban poor in Kampala has become one of the most pressing challenges to the leadership of the area. Through public private partnerships as a solution strategy, government can provide land and support infrastructure such as constructing of roads, water and sewage lines and extension of electricity in areas where private developers are developing housing for the urban poor thus reducing construction costs incurred (Hogarth, 2015). Some of the public land held by government is idle and therefore can be put to use to construct houses for the urban poor through PPPs (D Mahadevia, 2018).