Newly appointed Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Executive Director Dorothy Kisaka has urged all Ugandans to implement measures aimed at combating the spread of the deadly Coronavirus (COVID-19 pandemic.
Ms. Kisaka, replaces Eng. Andrew Kitaka, revealed this in her inaugural speech on Friday, shortly after taking over the office of the KCCA Executive Director, following her appointment by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni a few days ago. Here below is her full speech;
The Honorable Minister of Kampala Capital City and Metropolitan Affairs, Ms. Amongi Betty Ongom (MP)
The Head of Public Service, Mr. John Mitala
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Public Service
Secretary Office of the President
The Resident District Commissioner
The Deputy Resident Commissioners
Your Worship the Lord Mayor of Kampala City, Hajji Erias Lukwago
The Deputy Lord Mayor of Kampala City
KCCA Speaker
Division Mayors
KCCA Deputy Speaker
Hon Members of the Council,
Hon Members of the Division Councils
The Outgoing Executive Director, Eng Andrew Kitaka
The KCCA Management Team
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
I greet you Citizens of the great Kampala City!
It gives me great joy to speak at this auspicious occasion where I have taken Oath and pledged to serve Kampala City and also received the mantle of leadership from my predecessor.
Let me begin by expressing my thanks to His Excellency the President of the Republic of Uganda for the trust, he has conferred upon me to serve at the helm of Kampala Capital City Authority as Executive Director. I am greatly honored by this appointment and I embrace the opportunity to serve with great gratitude and humility.
I affirm my readiness to serve the people of Uganda and develop the Capital City of our beautiful Country. I pledge to commit my energies and my daily work to deliver on the City Vision; a Vibrant, Attractive and Sustainable City. So help me Lord!
Let me also thank His Excellency the President of the Republic of Uganda for identifying my colleagues Engineer David Luyimbazi Ssali, the Deputy Executive Director and Ms Grace Akullo, the Director Administration and Human Resource as part of this team. I congratulate you my colleagues on this elevation to serve the Capital City. Together we shall fulfill the mission of delivering quality services to Kampala City.
In a special way I want to express my gratitude to the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister for his great leadership, mentorship and support for the years I have served at OPM. OPM has been the boot camp that has provided me the nurture and skilling needed for this next level of service. I am grateful for the years of training and skilling.
Every promotion in Public Service is a promotion to greater service. It calls for sacrifice, for diligence and a lot of hard work. We will yoke with the KCCA Political and Technical Leadership so that we can effectively deliver quality services to the citizens of Uganda.
Kampala City is a home to all Ugandans. Kampala City is a home to millions of City dwellers from different walks of life, of different languages, and of different political leanings. But despite our diversity, the aspiration is one; the people of Uganda want a vibrant and attractive City. They want a City that they can proudly call their home.
I congratulate and celebrate our predecessors for articulating the vision and the foundational work they have done in the Capital City since 2011. Laws have been established; systems and governance structures have been established. I thank you Hon Minister and your predecessors for providing guidance in this endeavor since inception. I thank Your Worship the Lord Mayor and the whole Council for the great work you have done in this regard as iron sharpens iron in your Council deliberations. I thank you Eng. Andrew Kitaka and the Management Team, for the service you have rendered to Kampala especially in the last twenty months.
We will now together build on the foundation laid as we aspire to scale new heights to meet the aspirations of the people of Uganda. There is no doubt that the strong legacy established by my predecessor Dr Jennifer Semakula Musisi, will provide a solid foundation for the greater works yet to come.
Hon Minister, we are ready and we are eager to serve. I am looking forward to meeting the KCCA Management and staff in our meetings. I have identified seven areas regarding organizational culture that cut across all directorates, which we shall inculcate in our work for the effective execution of our mandate. The goals of the Technical Team are clearly spelled out in the Strategic Plan but the philosophy of our operations is as follows:
1—We shall lead from the front and lead by example. We shall do what we say and avoid duplicity.
2—We must fast track development of the City and achieve the goals set out in the Strategic Plan.
3—We shall pursue a participatory approach with the Citizens of Uganda to nurture the stunning beauty of Kampala City. The staff cannot do it alone. Everyone ought to participate in beautifying his or her neighborhood. It is imperative that we work together to create a City environment that City dwellers and the whole of Uganda will be proud of.
4—We shall work towards minimizing interruptions to development by building bridges that promote peace across the many stakeholders. We cannot develop the City in the midst of unending intentional interruptions. We will promote a culture that says ‘we are bigger than the differences that divide us’. The people of Kampala deserve that. We can all win.
5—We shall serve all Kampala in its diversity and ensure that they are well catered for with basic amenities both in dwelling and trading spaces. Kampala is a melting point for the 56 tribes of Uganda and this diversity must be respected and provided for.
6—We shall promote the rich inherited values bequeathed by our ancestors; that is good neighborliness, hard work, shared wealth, integrity and honesty so that we build strong communities of City dwellers. Both the inner infrastructure and outer infrastructure are important.
7—We shall all pledge to be good stewards of what Uganda has entrusted to us as a Technical Team. We shall not yoke with detractors of development or those who steal public property, or promote divisions that deter development, or eat the bread of laziness, or mistreat City dwellers, or in any way break the law and deter the good work of developing Uganda. We shall be trustworthy stewards of this great trust of Kampala City. Hon Minister, we know you shall hold us accountable.
We begin our tour of service at City Hall at a time when we are facing a peculiar war, the COVID-19 pandemic. For the last four months we have witnessed the citizens of Uganda put on a brave face to fight this pandemic. Our first concern in Kampala is safety for all. I want to thank our teams for the commendable work you are doing to ensure that community infections are minimized.
While we nurse our sick and mourn our dead, let us not be negligent in taking basic precautions to avoid infection. This pandemic provides us City dwellers an opportunity to improve on City sanitation.
As I conclude, I wish to take this opportunity to thank you Hon Minister for all your endeavors in ensuring that we settle in smoothly. Thank you for organizing the orientation and fast tracking the processes to enable us join our colleagues at City Hall.
I wish to thank the Head of Public Service, Mr. John Mitala for the role you have played today in ensuring that we recognize the magnitude of the work ahead of us.
I thank Your Worship the Lord Mayor and the entire Council, and the Division Councils for warmly welcoming us and we look forward to a cordial working relationship
I thank you Eng. Andrew Kitaka, and the KCCA Management Team for graciously receiving us in a style that observes the SOPs. I particularly thank you for a smooth handover and for the detailed handover brief. I have read it and I look forward to internalizing it.
Allow me to leave you with a scripture from Judeo Christianity attributed to Jesus Christ in the book of Matthew 17:20. It is a one sentence that says:
‘If you have faith, nothing shall be impossible to you’
For God and My Country
I thank you!
