President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has commissioned the expansion and rehabilitation of Sembabule water supply system.
The President urged the residents to protect the water resources in the area jealously and use the new installations to improve their livelihoods.
The National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) took over operations of the Sembabule town water supply systems in April 2016 and Mateete and Ntusi town systems in March 2018 respectively from private operators supervised.
The management of the two water supply systems had been under Private Operators supervised by the Ministry of Water and Environment.
The residents shared that during the rainy season, people in unserved areas draw water for domestic consumption from runoff ponds which usually dry out during the dry season forcing them to trek over 10km looking for water at the Kyoga swamp and Katonga river as the only nearby sources of water.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, NWSC boss Dr.Eng Silver Mugisha shared that the corporation is going to install a number of Public water points to reduce the influence of middle men who sell water in the area between 500shs to 1000shs.
The NWSC recommended price for a 20 litre jerrycan is Shs 25shs at public water points, 78shs at domestic rate, 79shs on the Institution/Govt tariff and 97shs on Commercial tariff.
NWSC is working on installing over 20,000 public water points, 14,000 new connections, 8000kms of water mains extension in over 12,000 new villages across the country under the Service coverage Acceleration Programme (SCAP 100) an initiative by the government of Uganda through NWSC.” he added
According to the NWSC Board chairman Dr.Eng Christopher Ebal, the government of Uganda through NWSC initiated the Service coverage Acceleration Programme to improve access to safe water in over 12,000 villages in Uganda in line with the 2040 government’s vision of water for all.
The people of Sembabule have been among the first beneficiaries of this programme.” he shared.