No Sleep, Lira Mayor Atul Songabele

By: Etwop Jackson Aggrey Email: aduku2000@yahoo.com

WhatsApp: 0782 319 778

LIRA CITY: Mayor Sam Atul has been sworn in for a second term, marking the formal commencement of his continued administrative mandate and the beginning of another distinguished chapter of public service. 

His inauguration carries with it the profound responsibility of advancing Lira City's urban interests and strengthening the foundations of inclusive, sustainable development across all divisions. 

He was received by a distinguished gathering of official city leadership, political associates, devoted supporters, and well-wishers, all assembled in a profound display of solidarity and goodwill as he embarked on this significant administrative mission. 

Their presence reflected the confidence and high expectations surrounding his tenure, as residents of Lira City look forward to impactful governance, tangible service delivery, and strengthened local institutions under his continued leadership.The mandate is clear. After securing 16,530 votes to 2,740 in the NRM primaries and delivering a sweeping general election victory, Mayor Atul returns not as a political novice, but as a tested steward whose record speaks in delivered infrastructure. His inaugural term was anchored in methodical execution and fiscal discipline. 

Annual local revenue surged from Shs 2 billion to Shs 4.7 billion, financing a mechanized road fleet that now carves order into the city’s arteries. Sanitation shifted from chronic neglect to systematic routine, while political divides yielded to pragmatic governance; two opposition UPC members were elevated to his executive cabinet, proving that development transcends partisan allegiance. 

In rare recognition of municipal excellence, Chief Magistrate Joe Fay Adoko awarded him a civic medal—a testament to leadership measured by results, not rhetoric.That foundation now ascends. The proposed Anai Airport, designated the Dr. Milton Obote Memorial Regional Airfield, stands as a strategic gateway poised to unlock trade and investment across Lango. Mayor Atul navigates its legal and land processes with transparent precision, recognizing air connectivity as the oxygen of modern urban economies.

 Simultaneously, the Shs 37.6 billion USMID Phase II contract is actively rehabilitating critical corridors—Obangakene, Uhuru, Boundary, and Aber Roads—while completing Coronation Park and commissioning a dedicated children’s sanctuary in Adyel Division. At the city’s sporting heart, the US$129 million Akii Bua Olympic Stadium stands over ninety percent complete, poised to host continental fixtures for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations and sustain hundreds of local artisans.Urban dignity, however, demands more than concrete; it requires environmental accountability. 

Mayor Atul has confronted Lira’s waste management challenge with systematic resolve. In the Main Market and city centre, daily collection schedules and designated transfer stations have eliminated the overflow that once choked commercial walkways.

 Strict compliance inspections now govern downtown businesses, while peri-urban centres are being integrated into structured waste zones with community-managed collection points and scheduled haulage.

 Public sensitization campaigns frame cleanliness as a civic covenant, transforming refuse disposal from an afterthought into a shared municipal responsibility. 

This is not mere sanitation; it is a public health imperative and a benchmark of urban maturity.The city’s physical transformation is already visible. The Mayor’s Garden, once an exposed and underutilized parcel, now stands fully fenced, meticulously landscaped, and fully operational. Over 1,528 newly planted trees shade 28,321 square metres of revitalized public ground, converting dusty thoroughfares into revenue-generating green corridors.

 The garden’s secured perimeter, newly constructed public toilets, and functional canteen have transformed it into a premier venue for civic and social functions. 

Lira is no longer a town in transition; it is a city consciously greening its future.Such scale survives on institutional trust. The World Bank, African Development Bank, MTN Uganda, and national ministries have invested heavily in Lira precisely because Mayor Atul’s administration delivers audited transparency and unwavering accountability. Songabele.

 The Lango philosophy binds this second term to collective momentum. With a deputy mayor drawn from the persons with disabilities constituency and a cabinet that spans the political spectrum, his message remains unchanged: development has no party colour. To every trader, rider, teacher, and elder the mandate is continuity. The roads are laid. 

The stadium rises. The markets are ordered. The waste is managed. The gardens bloom. Mayor Atul stands ready. Lira stands with him. Forward, together, always.