National Urban Policy (NUP) 2017.

This National Urban Policy (NUP) is a sectoral policy document. The NUP is developed to provide guidelines for planned development as well as enhance the role of the urban sector in socio-economic transformation and development of the country. The Goal of the NUP is established as: “To promote livable urban areas that are organized, inclusive, productive and sustainable”.
To achieve the policy goal, the NUP provides a number of policy statements and strategies to address major issues affecting Uganda’s urban sector. The Policy has introduced a criterion for creation and upgrading of urban areas and a hierarchy of urban and rural settlements. It takes cognizance of the fact that Uganda is urbanizing at a fast rate and it is projected that by 2050, half of the Country’s population will be living in urban areas. The NUP contributes to making agriculture more productive and sustainable. Strategies are proposed, including: Promoting urban agriculture; Supporting the development of urban regional infrastructure projects that stimulate sustainable economic productivity across the urban-rural continuum; Promoting and enforcing planned urban extensions based on the principles of equitable, efficient, and sustainable use of land and natural resources; etc.
In Uganda, the rate of urban growth of 5.2% is remarkably high and if not properly planned, it will inevitably exacerbate the serious social constraints on the rural and urban growth centres. According to the NUP, planned urbanization is an effective strategy for poverty eradication as well as presenting potential benefits of agglomeration which enhances access to basic services by the population, reduces the cost of service delivery, and creates demand and market for goods and services. The Guiding Principles of the NUP includ: 1) SMART/GREEN GROWTH: A better way to build and maintain towns and cities is by building urban, sub-urban and rural communities with housing and transportation choices near jobs, shops and schools to support the economy and protect the environment. 2) SOCIAL EQUITY AND INCLUSION: Urban areas and cities should support the equitable distribution and access to resources and opportunities in urban areas. All stakeholders are to be accorded opportunity to share responsibilities and benefits of urbanization.
The urban sector provides a market for goods and services both internally generated and from rural areas to meet the needs of the urban dwellers. The Policy promotes to enable more inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems. The Government shall promote equitable economic development in urban areas through such strategies as: Facilitate access to credit for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and cooperatives throughout the value chain; Promote the establishment of business firms, associations, enterprises, alliances, trusts and cooperatives for economic empowerment and job creation; Promote mixed neighborhood concept to support Local Economic Development; Promote special business premises for small trders through construction of food courts, stands, preferment farmer's fare sites, night markets, etc.
The NUP promotes to increase the resilience of livelihoods to disasters. It sets up resilience as one of the guiding principles: Urban areas and cities need to be resilient and all efforts shall be made to ensure resilience against all forms of threats, risks and challenges including climate change, natural disasters, resource scarcity, insecurities and socio-economic shocks among others.
The successful implementation of the Policy will enable a faster rate of social and economic transformation not only for the urban sector but also the rural sector due to intricate inter-linkages between rural and urban areas. A monitoring, evaluation and review framework shall be institutionalized for effective implementation of the National Urban Policy.