Ministry of Water and Environment: Access to Functioning Water Sources
The Ugandan water supply and sanitation sector has made spectacular progress in urban areas since the mid-1990s, with substantial increases in coverage as well as in operational and commercial performance. The sector was reformed through several laws since 1995, leading to decentralisation and increased private participation.
The successful turnaround of the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) in that period, as well as innovative service contracts in small towns, has attracted significant international attention. However, 40 per cent of the population still had no access to an improved water source and 57 per cent had no improved sanitation in 2004. Generally, access in rural areas is much lower than in urban areas. Low access to urban sanitation and wastewater treatment are also areas of concern.
The sector has been recognised as a key area under the 2004 Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP), Uganda's main strategy paper to fight poverty. A comprehensive expenditure framework has been introduced to coordinate financial support by external donors, the national government, and NGOs.
The PEAP estimates that from 2001 to 2015, about US$1.4 billion, or US$92 million per year, is needed to increase water supply coverage up to 95 per cent.
According to the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE), access to functioning water sources varies considerably among districts, from 12 per cent to 95 per cent. The national government aims to reach universal water supply and sanitation coverage in urban areas and 77 per cent water supply and 95 per cent sanitation coverage by 2015. The latter definition is different from that of the Joint Monitoring Program for Water and Sanitation of WHO and UNICEF, used above, which complicates the monitoring of targets for access.
The Reform of the National Water and Sewerage Corporation
The National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) was created as a government-owned parastatal organisation in 1972 under the national administration of Idi Amin Dada, serving only the capital Kampala as well as Entebbe and Jinja. Subsequently its service area gradually grew to incorporate large and mid-sized towns all over Uganda, reaching a total of 22 cities and towns in 2007.
In 1995 and 2000, it was reorganised under the NWSC Statute and NWSC Act, giving it substantial operational autonomy and the mandate to operate and provide water and sewerage in areas entrusted to it, on a sound, commercial, and viable basis.Since 2000, NWSC has worked under performance contracts with the national government, each covering three years. The contracts contain precise performance indicators, which the NWSC is expected to achieve.
For example, the 2003-2006 contract required NWSC to reduce NRW (Non Revenue Water) from 39 per cent in 2003 to 36 per cent in 2006. Simultaneously, inactive connections should be reduced from 21 per cent to 13 per cent. In order to encourage management to achieve the targets, an incentive element of 25 per cent of the annual basic salary depended on the fulfillment of the contract. Each year the NWSC board decides the appropriate bonus rate that the NWSC management receives.
Policy and Regulation
The lead agency for formulating national water and sanitation policies, coordinating and regulating the sector is the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE). The Directorate of Water Development (DWD) under the MWE acts as the executive arm and provides support to local governments and other service providers.
Economic and performance regulation. There is no independent economic regulatory body for water supply. Tariffs are proposed by NWSC and need to be approved by MWE. NWSC is regulated by contract according to a performance contract with the national government. The Performance Review Committee (PRC) under the MWE reviews the performance of NWSC according to the contract. However, the PRC is partly financed by the NWSC, which may hinder the full independence of the committee.
NWSC regulates its local branch offices through internal contracts that are monitored by its internal monitoring and regulation department. Environmental regulation. Environmental regulation is carried out by the DWD and the National Environment Management Authority. Drinking water quality regulation. The Directorate of Water Development (DWD) is expected to monitor the quality of drinking water provided by NWRC. However, in practice NWRC monitors its drinking water quality internally without any complementary external monitoring.
NWSC's internal Quality Control Department examines whether the supplied water complies with the national standards for drinking water, which in turn follow the World Health Organisation guidelines.
There is a central laboratory in Kampala and satellite laboratories in the other NWSC operation areas. At several sampling points, water is controlled for pH, colour, turbidity, residue chlorine, and E-coli. The results are available at the official NWSC website and mostly comply with the national standards. Where NWSC does not provide the service, districts are responsible for water quality monitoring. According to the MWE, this is done insufficiently and data are scarce.
Service Provision
Cities and towns. In 22 cities and large towns water supply and sewerage - where it exists - is provided by the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), a public utility working on a commercial basis. In 2007 it provided services to 1.8 million people out of 2.5 million in Kampala, Jinja/Lugazi, Entebbe, Tororo, Mbale, Lira, Gulu, Masaka, Mbarara, Kabale, Kasese and Fort Portal, Bushenyi/Ishaka, Soroti Arua, Masindi, Malaba, Iganga, Hoima, and Mubende. The smallest town served, Hoima, has a population of only 9,000. The NWSC operates under the MWE.
Small towns. In small towns, mostly with a population of between 5,000 and about 30,000, facilities are owned and managed by local governments, supported by the MWE. Many have created Water Authorities, which contract out services to local private operators.
In rural areas, local governments at district levels are responsible for the adequate operation and maintenance of water systems. Responsibility for sanitation promotion and hygiene education in communities and schools is vested in the MWE, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Education and Sports.
Private Sector Participation
Besides its performance contracts with the national government and its internal contracts beginning in 2000, NWSC also had two consecutive service contracts for billing and collection (called "management contracts") with foreign companies in Kampala. The first management contract between NWSC and the German company H.P. Gauff Ingenieure started in July 1998 and ended in June 2001.
The second contract with the French company OSUL (Ondeo Services Uganda Limited) ran from February 2002 and February 2004. Under both contracts, NWSC's financial and operational indicators continued to improve.
However, a study by the Boston Institute for Developing Economies concludes that the improvements were not due to private sector participation, but to overall reforms of NWSC initiated before the service contracts were signed and continued while they were being implemented. Small towns UN-Water indicates management contracts with private operators in 50 small Ugandan towns.
Since the sector still receives subsidies from the national government, the service improved notably without being accompanied by major tariff increases. In rural areas, mostly local private operators focus on construction, supply of parts and materials, capacity building, and consultancy. Private participation in the rural Ugandan water sector still faces major challenges such as inexperienced local governments and private operators, limited public spending, and poor user participation. However, he saw an improvement in the performance of private sector participation compared to three years before, which may give rise to optimism.
Other Functions
Besides the MWE, several other national ministries play a role in the sector. The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development coordinates funding and donor support. The Ministry of Local Government is expected to support decentralised government systems, which manage their own water facilities. The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development is responsible for the promotion of gender-responsive development and community mobilisation. The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries oversees water use for irrigation.
Concerning sanitation, the Environmental Health Division (EHD) under the Ministry of Health is in charge of an integrated sanitation strategy for the country, and the Ministry of Education and Sports is responsible for health, sanitation, and hygiene in schools. All the above mentioned ministries, together with the Ministry of Public Service, development partners, and civil society, form the Water and Sanitation Sector Working Group.
