To take or not to take over the administration of Kampala City by the Central Government is an issue that has been simmering over the backburners for some time.

The issue first came up a couple of years ago, provoking heated debate and then appeared to have died a natural death as is the wont of so many things Ugandan.

But now, with the Presidential polls still safely two years away and the opposition in a shambles, the central government appears determined to take over the city before long. Now anyone who has been to this city on seven hills and witnessed the mess that it is, would wonder why there should be any debate about anybody throwing out the vultures that today masquerade as Kampala's administrators.

The perennial traffic nuisance and inconveniencies aside, Kampala reeks of uncollected refuse, merchandise in shops spills over into the streets and everyday some ill-conceived structure pops up in the most illogical spot in the Central Business District. There are barely any open green spaces left as Mayor Nasser Ntege Ssebagala, the onetime convict in the US on forgery charges, and his cohort of local thugs masquerading as councilors parcel out chunks of city land to the highest briber. Roads are disappearing under potholes as service delivery is the bottom of City Hall's list of priorities.

Yet there is opposition to the central government's proposal. For obvious reasons, the Buganda kingdom establishment in Mengo are opposed to take over of the City administration by the Central Government. They also fear that with the current craze for prime land in the city, the Kingdom's cultural sites which sit on acres of prime land might become ripe targets for land grabbers.

Other people are opposed for different reasons. To begin with, some fear they might get disenfranchised because elsewhere in the country, residents, municipal or otherwise have been electing their leaders, at least for the past 20 years. But democracy has not worked for them.

In the frustration of watching helplessly as politically appointed executives looted the city treasury clean, people cheered at the idea of having elected peoples representatives supervise the technical staff at City Hall. In the event, the Democratic Party (DP) or the 'Dead Party' as it is sometimes derisively called, took control of the capital's politics and has been in charge of the city's affairs for at least 12 years now.

Despite the drubbing they suffer on the national stage in presidential elections, the DP have somehow managed to maintain a stranglehold over Kampala. As a supposed government in waiting, one would have thought that they would use Kampala to showcase what as an alternative to the ruling national resistance Movement (NRM) they would make once in power.

That is the way things would be if you were dealing with people who had a vision that extended beyond their bulging bellies.

Not our friends from the DP, the party whose slogan is 'Truth and Justice.' Hungry from decades out of power, the champions of truth and justice have spent more time rehabilitating themselves. In the course of doing this, selling off city land even if that meant giving away public toilet facilities has become the norm and extorting money from bidders for tenders to manage facilities like street parking, markets and the taxi parks has became the number one priority of the DP dominated council.

Repairing a square metre of pothole in an asphalt road costs Ushs 60,000 ($30 at the current exchange rage) but what is there to eat from a single pothole? Instead, Ssebagala and his cronies wait for a road to break down to the point where it should be completely rebuilt, to repair the potholes! So for a while you will see repairmen working on a certain stretch everyday but the potholes just keep popping up and the backhanders keep streaming in.

Kampala's administrators are strange lot indeed.

News came out the other day that nearly US$ 2.5 million has been lost to a contractor who was hired to collect levies in the city. Ironically, the idea of hiring private collectors was to stem the losses that were occasioned by city hirelings. Well money has been lost but Ssebagala and company are behaving like nothing can be done to recover it. The contractor has not even bothered to hide himself.

The other day, it was the Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers Association (UTODA) who were in the spotlight. They were hired to manage revenue from the city's commuter business but typically, they are always in arrears on their obligations to Kampala City Council. This does not cost them a dime as their contracts keep getting renewed. The last time KCC appeared to have mustered some courage against them, they sent a warning that they would not get out of the parks and advised KCC to keep off. Then none other than the minister for local government ordered KCC to waive UTODA's arrears and renew the contract.

Despite all the glaring evidence of incompetence and outright corruption, it is unlikely that Museveni will get widespread support for his moves to take over the city. Part of the problem is that he lacks the credibility to champion this cause because you cannot discuss dubious land transactions in the city and the country without his name popping up somewhere.

So there is that fear that the ruling party simply wants to have everything its way and taking over the city will not necessarily bring any meaningful change. It is a tempting proposition. With all the laws that could be invoked to clean City Hall of all the thieves one wonders why the central government simply doesn't crack the whip to restore a semblance of order. Reminds one of the works minister who has kept his docket for nearly 15 years despite a catalogue of scandals in our poorly executed roads sector.

With people like those around Museveni, one is tempted to maintain the status quo.

At least with Ssebagala and his councilors, the voters have an opportunity to throw them out once in five years.