By Sebastian Bogere
Gulu City, (UG):- The Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development has rallied Gulu City’s local government to embark on the development of the commercial sector as a major contributor to local revenues/ finance in a bid to spur development.
The call was made during a day capacity building training for Local Economic Development (LED) for Gulu City Technical staff held at the City Health Boardroom on Friday, December 13, 2024.
Arthur Abigaba, the Urban Planner at the Department of Urban Development in the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development explained that the primary purpose of the training is to tickle the Gulu City Technical staff on coming out with business ideas including local and foreign investments in order to spur the commercial opportunities in the city.
Abigaba explained that LED was adopted as the six pillars under the decentralization agenda of 2016 aimed at empowering communities and local governments to boost revenue through improved commerce.
“Urban local governments are case economies. You need to run them as businesses with business models to improve on local revenue” Abigaba remarked.
He added that it is not profitable for the city’s local government to focus only on policy frameworks and meetings while financial ventures are in limbo when there is a need to run the city also as a business model.
Bernard Opolot Apollo, the Gulu City Deputy Town Clerk supported the call saying it is one of the avenues that can improve business and commerce in the city’s local government.
Opolot explained that for quite a long time, cities, municipalities and urban local governments had been concentrating on infrastructure developments as opposed to local financial elevation.
Mark Moro, the Chairman Chambers of Commerce for Northern Uganda said that the call is achievable, especially when the city starts to map and design certain business ideas that can be developed to maturity.
Moro said that the city needs to improve on small business ventures such as food vending, music and arts, and sports among others that could be used to generate local revenue.
Hamid Akamba, the Deputy Resident City Commissioner (RCC) of Bardege-Layibi Division while representing the office of the RCC embraced the call and implored the city councillors and technocrats to formulate a better way of developing business entities in the city.
Akamba revealed that it can be achieved very well by revisiting the forthcoming 2025/2026 budget to indicate what commercial entities suit the elevation of businesses.
Possible business ideas
In August 2024, Gulu City Council presented a motion that should allow the regulation of some unregulated business entities such as food vending, arts and music, street selling, hotels and middle-standard restaurants.
According to Doreen Aber Luboyo, the Secretary for Health and Education in the City Council the registration of entities like food vending is because it is one of the business entities that can contribute to the city’s local income.
Besides that, Aber revealed that the regulation of the food vendors would help promote hygiene and eradicate the risk of food poisoning.
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