By Nasser Kasozi Akandwanaho
The National Water and Sewerage Corporation has revealed a plan in which it intends to expand access to safe and clean water targeting 25m Ugandans in the next five years.
According to NWSC managing director Eng. Silver Mugisha, the water body currently is serving 18m people but within the next five years, this number will go up by seven million people.
“We want to increase connections from the current 900000 to over 1.2 million in the next five years and many other plans. We are currently serving 18 million people. We want to serve over 25 million people in the next five years,” he said as the entity celebrated 50 years of existence at Kololo presided over by the president.
He said that in the 50 years of its existence, NWSC has registered tremendous achievements among which, is an increase in the number of towns served by the corporation from three to 263.
Others include the increase in the number of people served with piped water from less than 200000 to the current 18 million, the increase in the number of customer connections from 10000 to 900000, and support to health improvement and Industrial development of Uganda.
“Over the past 50 years, the corporation has gone through a process of change management and growth, and we are proud of several achievements. The first decade involved; the evolution of NWSC, the second decade; the rehabilitation and reconstruction following the turmoil in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the third and fourth decades constituted the commercialization of NWSC services and performance improvement management and the fifth decade; service expansion” he explained.
He said that not only has NWSC registered success in Uganda but also on the International scene. For example, the entity 2005 established what he called an External Service Unit in response to the demand for NWSC expertise from other utilities and institutions in Uganda and also in the region and outside Africa.
“Since its inception, ESU has partnered with several water and electricity utilities in various countries in Africa, Asia, and Caribbean. This is made possible by the existence of a well-balanced and professional workforce” he says.
