Foreword

Makindye Ssabagabo is one of the fastest growing areas in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area, with a population growth rate of 10 per cent and the highest population density in the country.

When the city was elevated to a municipal council in 2016, its residents had very high expectations and envisaged quality services in the short-term. However, this was not realized due to limited financial resources coupled with the enormous challenges in transport, housing, waste management, health, water and sanitation subsectors, prompting the city to pursue collaboration with development partners in order to address these challenges.

The city therefore submitted its application to the Open Call for Cities of the Climate Smart Cities Challenge in 2020 in order to deal with the challenge of increasing greenhouse gases (GHGs) from existing residential homes that account for 9 per cent of the GHGs. This is coupled with an acute shortage of affordable housing projected at 189,115 units in 2023. The lack of affordable and green housing therefore exacerbates the city’s ability to reduce carbon emissions and approach net zero. There is therefore a need to develop scalable, affordable green technologies and models to accommodate the growing population sustainably, either through retrofitting existing housing stock or building new model homes that are climate-smart.

Through a series of consultations involving different stakeholders, the city is ready to undertake the Green Homes project under a public-private partnership given the conducive legal and regulatory frameworks that protect the innovators and their clients. The city has also secured land on which the innovators can test their ideals and prototypes.

The successful implementation of this project will greatly improve aesthetics and liveability in the entire city while guaranteeing green jobs for the residents.

I take this opportunity to thank UN-Habitat, Viable Cities, Nesta Challenges and all the Swedish partners for the support extended so far.

Engineer Ssemwanga Godfery

Mayor, Makindye Ssababgabo Municipality