By Frank Kamuntu
The management of National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) on Friday evening hosted clients and staff to a Customer Connect dinner, which was held at its headquarters in Kampala.
The dinner was accompanied with a sumptuous buffet, which the guests and NWSC staff enjoyed while washing it down with all tribes of drinks.
The event also doubled as a celebration of NWSC’s achievements in the past 47 years since its establishment in 1972, whereby it started in three towns; Kampala, Jinja and Entebbe.
During the same dinner, NWSC officials used the opportunity to get feedback from clients which will help them in service enhancement.
Some of the NWSC officials who graced the event include; Eng. Andrew Sekayizi, the General Manager Kampala Water, Mahmood Lutaaya Senior, the Manager Operations, Apidel Samuel the Organisation’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), John Fisher Sekabira who is the Principal Corporate Marketing Officer, among other key staff members .
The NWSC Managing Director Dr Silver Mugisha revealed in a documentary screened at the event that they are establishing new big projects which include; New Katosi Water Treatment Plant, Kiigo-Kaazi Water Treatment Plant, Kajjansi Sewarage Treatment Plant and Nalukolongo Sewarage Treatment Plant as a way of expanding services to all people, since their target is to supply water to the nation 100%
Dr Mugisha added that “Already there are ongoing big projects for NWSC including Arua Water Supply Project, Bushenyi-Kitagata Water Project, Mbale Water Project, Isingiro-Mbarara Water project a connection from R.Kagera, plus Gulu Water Project, a connection from R.Nile which will serve six districts in Nothern Region all aimed to solve the problem of inadequate water supply.”
Eng. Sekayizzi said that “As NWSC we are to continue serving all our customers in their capacities.”
He gave examples of orphanage centers, Government hospitals and Government schools, where each jerrycan of water is sold at Shs25 through a NWSC project called Sewerage Capital Investment Project.
Sekayizzi encouraged Ugandans to conserve the environment since all the water they use is got from the environment they live in, including lakes, meaning that once misused, it can lead to their lives being affected because of water scarcity or contamination. He revealed that they have set up a team to visit various schools to educate students on environmental conservation.
Dr Mugisha promised customers that short-time hindrances like delay of water meters, leakage of water pipes which are mostly caused by quack engineers (Kamyufu) are to be worked upon. He requested clients to always consult NWSC engineers and to stop corrupting some of the NWSC staff in the respective fields they serve.
He thanked government for being NWSC’s backbone through supporting the organisation, which has led to efficiency in service delivery and expansion to several parts of the country.
“As I speak to you now the number of connections has increased to 311000 in Kampala alone and in 6 years we have migrated from 36 towns and currently are serving 253 towns in Uganda.” Dr Mugisha said.
Mahmood Lutaaya, the Senior Manager Operations in Kampala, revealed that because of their effort they can now produce more than 240 million liters of water everyday in Kampala and are implementing Katosi Water Plant on L.Victoria which will add more 150 million litres of water.
He noted that once Katosi Water plant project is done they will be producing 400 million litres of water per day.
Lutaaya revealed that although there is success in their journey of supplying water, there is still a challenge of Low water Quality due to irritating chemicals, high water tariffs which always become hard for clients to clear, among others.
He concluded by announcing their upcoming Africa Water event which will be held from 24th – 27th February 2020 at Serena Kampala under a theme “Breaking New Grounds To Accelerate Access To Water and Sanitation For All in Africa.’
