Members of Parliament on the Natural Resources Committee want the National Water and Sewerage Corporation – NWSC to revise its terms of service and start supplying clean piped water in all town councils across the country.
This comes after Eng. Silver Mugisha, the managing director NWSC told the legislators Friday that they are only mandated to operate in cities, municipalities and a few urban town councils which are designated to them by the Ministry of Water.
Eddie Kwizera, the Member of Parliament for Bukimbiri County, Kisoro district while on a working visit to Katosi Water Treatment Plant located in Mpunge sub-county, Mukono district with the rest of the committee members said Eng. Mugisha should not regard them as tourists when their constituents are hardly getting clean water and at high costs.
Kwizera said the fact that they are upgraded to the status of town councils despite being in rural areas, National Water should start distributing to them clean and affordable piped water.
He added that the Ministry of Water should gazette all cities, municipalities and town councils and be serviced with national water because water is security and life. He notes that the local governments lack capacity to serve clean water to the people in those town councils hence leaving them to be cheated with even contaminated water which is sold to them at high prices.
Christine Kaaya Nakimwero, the Woman MP for Kiboga district said, they are having some private service providers and civil society organizations that are currently extending a helping hand, providing clean piped water but they are not sufficient whereas others provide water at relatively high prices.
Nakimwero therefore asked National Water to revise its terms of operation and consider extending its services to all town councils in the country.
Eng. Mugisha also insisted that the people in rural areas lack capacity to pay for water, adding that therefore, their legislators must task the government to provide them with clean water which is also free.
The committee chairperson, Emmanuel Otala has been impressed by the Katosi water treatment plant which according to Eng. Mugisha has solved the water challenges in the Kampala Metropolitan areas.
According to Eng. Mahmood Lutaaya, the Kampala Water General Manager, the Katosi plant is a relief to Gaba water plant whose water was no longer sufficient according to the demand which is estimated at 300,000m litres per day yet it (Gaba plant) only produced 240,000m litres per day.
Eng. Mugisha said that the completion of the Katosi Water Treatment Plant will increase the water production per day to 160,000m litres. He said that it has increased the total water production to 400,000m litres a day which is considered sufficient to meet the water demand in the greater Kampala metropolitan area for the next 10-15 years.