By Spy Uganda
The National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) has told Parliament that its nationwide water service expansion is being severely undermined by UGX116 billion in unpaid water bills accumulated by government ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs).
The alarming revelation was made by Eng. Alex Gisagara, Senior Advisor for Engineering Services at NWSC, while appearing before Parliament’s Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. The committee is probing why government arrears continue to rise even with quarterly releases from the Treasury.
“We began the journey with UGX81.4 billion in arrears in 2023/24,” Eng. Gisagara reported. “Today we are talking about UGX116 billion—an increase of over 10 percent. Yet only UGX16 billion of the old arrears has been paid, and when this year’s accumulation is added, the situation has become unsustainable. The latest remittance is only UGX962.3 million.”
His submissions followed inquiries from Committee Chairperson Herbert Ariko, who said Parliament’s probe was prompted by a January 2025 petition NWSC delivered to Speaker Anita Among, warning that arrears had spiraled beyond the utility’s financial capacity.
“Government had effectively become NWSC’s principal debtor,” Ariko told the committee. “Over five years, arrears rose to UGX105 billion. The corporation could not pay suppliers of pipes, materials, or contractors handling upgrades. Some sued, others abandoned projects. NWSC was being pushed to the brink.”
Despite recent releases from the Ministry of Finance intended to support MDAs in clearing their water bills, Eng. Gisagara said only UGX962.3 million has so far reached NWSC barely denting the growing UGX116 billion owed.
He, however, applauded some institutions that have settled their outstanding balances, including:
- Naguru Referral Hospital – UGX79.8 million
- Hoima Regional Referral Hospital – UGX137.6 million
- Arua Regional Referral Hospital – UGX187.6 million
- Fort Portal Regional Referral Hospital – UGX479.7 million
Samuel Emiku, Under Secretary at the Uganda Prisons Service, also acknowledged past defaults but confirmed that Prisons fully cleared its arrears on November 7, 2025, following an increase in their water budget from UGX7.05 billion to UGX15.694 billion. He said all arrears totaling UGX18.272 billion were released in the second quarter and paid in full.
The crisis echoes concerns raised by Auditor General Edward Akol, whose December 2024 report revealed that NWSC is struggling to recover UGX355 billion in total unpaid water bills. Of this, government entities owe UGX72.5 billion 20 percent of the total with some arrears pending for over two years.
The Auditor General warned that the mounting unpaid bills have placed “a severe financial strain on NWSC,” crippled infrastructure investment, slowed maintenance, and hindered service expansion ultimately affecting the reliability and quality of water supply across Uganda.
NWSC says government consumes water worth approximately UGX7 billion per month (UGX84 billion annually), yet many MDAs receive water budget allocations far below their actual usage. This mismatch has fueled a cycle of arrears that grows each financial year.
As Parliament continues its inquiry, NWSC maintains that unless the government commits to timely payment of its water bills, the utility’s ability to expand safe and reliable water to millions of Ugandans will remain significantly constrained.
