The National Water and Sewerage Corp. (NWSC) posted its best financial performance to date, reporting a record operating surplus for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
The surplus marks a 14% improvement over the previous year, according to the draft audited accounts released by the corporation.
Dr. Eng. Silver Mugisha, the corporation’s managing director, attributed the milestone to a sharp focus on revenue growth, aggressive cost containment, and a sustained effort to reduce system inefficiencies such as water losses.
“These results show that efficiency and accountability can drive tangible improvements in service delivery,” Mugisha told the New Vision newspaper Friday. “We are deliberate as a corporation and we shall continue tightening all loopholes.”
Financial Highlights
Core revenue from water and sewerage services increased by 5%, supported by a modest 2% tax indexation, Mugisha said.
The NWSC’s total assets grew by 9%, rising from to
, primarily driven by a 7% growth in non-current assets.
On the expenditure side, total operating costs increased by just 1%. This was largely due to careful management of employee benefit expenses, transport, mobile plant costs, and other administrative costs.
Service Expansion
The efficiency gains translated into direct benefits for customers across Uganda. In the 2024-2025 financial year alone, the NWSC rolled out approximately 60,000 new house connections and extended its network by 500 kilometers of main pipelines.
The corporation now serves 282 towns nationwide, advancing the nation’s vision of universal water access. The NWSC currently operates in 276 towns across 95 districts, serving a target population of 20 million people through 930,000 water connections and 29,400 sewer connections.
Addressing Water Loss
Mugisha emphasized that the corporation has stepped up efforts to reduce non-revenue water (NRW), a global challenge for utilities.
The NWSC is currently conducting a comprehensive research study on the impact of overhead tanks and meter separations on the accuracy of water meters at customer premises.
“We have instituted a study and the findings will inform a new policy framework on loss adjustment factors, designed to account for inherent meter inaccuracies caused by low flow rates,” he said. “This will strengthen our ability to reduce water losses and improve billing accuracy.”
The NWSC is committed to its “Water for All” vision, which seeks to steadily grow its internal financing capacity to fund both operational and capital needs. The corporation currently covers about 70% of its combined operating and capital expenditure requirements from internal resources.
MDA Debt Challenge
Despite the impressive results, the NWSC’s financial momentum is hampered by the slow settlement of water bills by ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs).
The average age of debt for MDA water bills currently exceeds 15 months, compared to just 2.5 months for non-government customers. This slow payment cycle hinders the corporation’s ability to reinvest surpluses in capital projects.
“We commend the government’s intervention of earmarking in the 2025-2026 budget to reduce outstanding arrears from MDAs,” Mugisha noted. “This move is expected to ease pressure on the corporation’s cash flows.”
The NWSC is positioning itself as a model public utility through enhanced operational efficiency and innovative market financing. Strategies include limiting outsourcing of engineering designs, strict regulation of administrative costs, and continuous staff training with close monitoring of individual performance.
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