KAMPALA.
Government has made a U-turn and created of nine new town councils across the country s ahead of the 2026 general elections despite complaints that they are expensive to maintain .
The new town councils, which became operational effective July 1, 2025, are located in districts that lost their original headquarters to newly created regional cities in 2020.
According to a letter dated July 1, 2025, Local Government Minister Raphael Magyezi informed Electoral Commission Chairperson Justice Simon Byabakama that the transition of affected sub-counties into town councils would support election preparedness and streamline service delivery.
“These regional cities took over the headquarters of their mother districts, meaning the districts had to relocate to existing sub-counties,” Mr Magyezi wrote.
He added: “The purpose of this letter is, therefore, to inform you and request you to take necessary action as we prepare for the forthcoming general elections.”
Each new town council is comprised of several wards and localities drawn from existing sub-counties.
In the past, government efforts to create new administrative units have been constrained by financial limitations.
A previous batch of 352 town councils and 364 sub-counties approved in 2019 faced delays of nearly two years due to lack of operational funding.
Many of them still operate in rented spaces and struggle with staffing and infrastructure gaps.
Minister Magyezi, however, defended the latest move, saying the transition involves upgrading existing administrative units, not creating entirely new ones.
“We are not creating new entities as such. We are turning sub-counties into town councils. These are structures that already have staff and administrative frameworks,” he told Monitor on Sunday.
He added that government had already disbursed Shs1 billion to each affected district to facilitate the construction of new headquarters.
“Some districts had already begun building their headquarters before this money was released. In case more funds are needed, we will engage the Ministry of Finance,” e explained.
One of the most symbolic changes involves Kyanamukkaka in Masaka District. The new designation fulfills a long-standing wish by local leaders, including former Vice President Edward Ssekandi — to host the district headquarters.
However, the district council had previously voted to place the headquarters in Buwunga Sub-county, where construction is already underway.
The new administrative units include:
• Awach Town Council (Gulu District)
• Kagoma Town Council (Jinja District)
• Mbale Town Council (Mbale District)
• Busoro Town Council (Kabale District)
• Kyanamukkaka Town Council (Masaka District)
• Kitoba Town Council (Hoima District)
• Ogur Town Council (Lira District)
• Katine Town Council (Soroti District)
• Vurra Town Council (Arua District)