|
 |
|
|
|
Latest News |
NWSC marks 35 years in Existence
Posted
on 2009-02-01
The National Water and Sewerage Corporation is celebrating 35 years of existence. JEFF MBANGA spoke to the corporation’s managing director, Dr. WILLIAM MUHAIRWE about the company’s turn around, and the outlook for the future.
Take us through a brief journey of National Water and Sewage Corporation since it began 35 years ago?
National Water started as Kampala Water Board. It was actually one
area; that is Kampala. Then in 1972, a decree was passed whereby all
towns would be incorporated into one institution, called the National
Water and Sewerage Corporation.
The main purpose at that time was to ensure that the water sector in
Uganda, especially in urban centres, enjoyed the economies of scale of
being amalgamated into one big company which could provide the
necessary human resources, the necessary capital, and maybe mobilise
funds from the donors. Immediately, Kampala water was joined by Entebbe
and Jinja.
The first managing director was called Engineer Kaya, then he was
followed by Engineer Oponyeto, who was followed by Hilary Onek, and I
am the fourth managing director. Of course the period, 1972 – 1979 was
a difficult period of Idi Amin. So the whole infrastructure was run
down. In 1982, when the new government came in, they tried to do some
rehabilitation. And that is when Engineer Onek became the managing
director.
So they mobilized funds and hardly had they started rehabilitation than
the coup of 1985 took place. Then everything settled. Rehabilitation
had to resume in 1988, in the so called first urban water project then
followed by the famous seven town water project. As we talk now the
NWSC has grown from three towns in 1972 to 22 towns. It has grown from
a loss making institution to a profit making company.
This year was the first year in which we managed to post net profits.
We can see that the company is growing. We are now able to finance a
big number of investments with our own internally generated funds
without going to the Ministry of Finance or the government budget. The
biggest project we are financing [now] is the Mukono water project
worth Shs10 billion.
We are now undertaking financing in Gulu, Arua, Masaka, Matugga, and
other projects. But for big projects we still need donors. For example
Gaba III has been entirely funded by the German government (15 million
Euros). Entebbe (10 million Euros) and Kabale water works have also
been funded by the German government. Those huge capital investments
are too big for the young NWSC.
What are some of the achievements the NWSC has recorded?
We have achieved quite a lot in the past 10 years. For example coverage
has increased from 47% in 1998 to 71% in 2007. Then the corporation has
recorded tremendous profits over the years. Operating profit after
depreciation increased from a loss of Shs2 billion in 1998 to a surplus
of Shs6.5 billion in 2007. Our customers have more than tripled from
50,826 connections in 1998 to 180,697.
What is behind the achievements?
There are a number of factors that have helped NWSC get where it is. We
have committed staff who know what they are doing. It is because of
them that we have managed to be where we are. They should not say that
it is Muhairwe; it is the whole team. Of course the government has been
on our side to a big extent. When we were growing, they used to support
us in terms of subsidies and mobilise funds from the donors.
And also the policy; we are one of the few companies with very little
government interference. Then of course the donors like the German
government and the World Bank, have been very supportive. Then there
are the customers. The willingness to pay among customers has increased
from 60% in 1998 to 93% to date, which is almost the highest in Africa.
Some people have been calling for the privatisation of NWSC. Do you think they have a fair argument?
The idea of privatisation has been fronted by very many people. The
reason people talked about privatisation earlier was because of the
belief that performance was maybe, colour related – that maybe if you
are white you would do better. Or ideological related – that private
people do much better than the public. But we have shown that
performance has no colour or ideology. We have seen many private
companies collapsing.
There is no guarantee that if you had a private company here it would
do wonders. We have got government companies which have done badly and
we have got government companies which are trying. Some people say that
NWSC is a good company and is trying. It is run by Ugandans, there are
no expatriates here. Everything is Ugandan. So the privatisation debate
in our view, as far as NWSC is concerned, has been misdirected. What we
plead for is a private sector mentality of running business.
We must run this business as if it were a private entity. We must use
commercialisation principles. We must put the customer as the king. And
that one can also be done by a government company like we have done it.
So we think at the moment that the privatisation theory is dying down.
We think the only way of killing it off completely is to continue to
perform. If you don’t perform, people will always think there is an
alternative somewhere else.
The water losses on average are 32%, which is quite high. How come this problem remains unsolved?
The water losses on average in Kampala and other towns is 32%. But if
you take Kampala out of [the picture] we have an average loss of 15%,
which is the best practice even at international standards. Because
there is a level at which you might not be able to control the losses.
For our 21 towns, we have managed to control the losses from 60% eight
years ago to 15% now.
From Kampala we moved from 60% to about 32%, the reason being that
Kampala is made up of so many hills now. They used to be seven, but now
we are talking about 22. And the oldest Kampala which is on seven hills
has got the oldest pipe network. And of course if you take Kololo, the
city centre, Mengo, they all have the old infrastructure. It is very
difficult to control these losses in this part of Kampala.
We have pipes which are as old as 1960 and 1970. If you have to control
losses from 32% to about 15% it means you have to uproot most of these
pipes and put in new ones. The cost of doing that is high and the
inconvenience will be enormous. We think the best we can do in Kampala
is to move from 32% to maybe 25%. In our corporate plan for the next
three to four years we are looking at maybe controlling the water
losses to about 28%.
Is theft included in water losses?
There are two types of water losses; commercial losses which include
thefts, metre by passes, illegal connections. This constitutes to about
50% of the losses and the other 50% is actually leakages. We produce
about 150,000 cubic metres of water per day. So you can imagine if you
had 30% of unaccounted water in Kampala due to leaking on the streets
only, the city would be flooded.
Recently there were press reports that Kampala water had faeces. How did this affect the corporation?
Of course the story was not true. You cannot have faeces in Kampala
water. If you had faeces in Kampala water, you would have had a cholera
and dysentery [outbreak]. People would actually have died. In actual
fact, KCC denied the story since it is a KCC person who did the survey.
KCC said that the survey was not done under the correct procedures.
Samples were taken, and the laboratory tests that were done were not
done in the right way. The man got wrong results and gave wrong results
to the press. Of course the customers knowing what NWSC is were a bit
alarmed. But when we explained they really understood. So our sales
were not affected at all.
Besides Financial support, what do you expect from Donors?
I must confess I had problems with GTZ in the beginning. They were
always insisting on giving us technical assistance – in the sense of
their experts telling our staff what to do. I didn’t think this was the
right way to go! We already had a staff compliment of 1,800 many of
them German trained. So why did we need to bring in additional
expatriate staff? What we needed was a good mix of hardware
infrastructure and accompanying technical assistance.
In this regard, I told GTZ that …. ‘Give us computers, the relevant
software and one or two people to help us implement the project’.
Discussions were intense at that time, and finally the German
Development Ministry said, okay, this is what our clients want, lets go
along. Because of this paradigm modification, GTZ is now counted as a
significant contributor to the modernisation of NWSC operations. In
summary what we expect from donors is flexibility and offering client
led assistance.
What are your current major challenges?
Our customer base is still growing rapidly. Moreover people are getting
better informed, and expectations are rising accordingly. We need to
keep on improving our services. And to accomplish that, we need to
train our work force even more. Funding also matters very much. The
debate on privatisation was fuelled much by the hope that private
sector would bring investment finance, but that never happened.
Major investments in water infrastructure, all over the world must be
supported by the state. But the state has no money and it is always
important to dialogue on possible other sources of funds, without
compromising the willingness and ability of the citizenry to pay their
bills.
There is also talk about listing NWSC on the stock market. Wouldn’t that change the character of the corporation?
That is true and that is the reason we still have a long way to go. In
my view, corporations might one day be listed on the stock market,
because corporations can indeed be run profitably. But when it comes to
the entire infrastructure, we must think again. There is no way you can
borrow, say $40 million for a new water treatment plant, and then
expect a profit for shareholders.
So do you not approve of different water Tariffs depending on consumers’ incomes?
Our current system is actually somewhat unfair. We have four different
water tariffs, with commercial customers paying a higher rate than
public institutions. In addition, there are domestic tariffs and
tariffs for poor people who use public standpipes.
In other words, those higher up the ladder subsidise those lower down.
We charge industrial customers four times more than we do poor people.
And the industrial customer may ask us: ‘Why should I pay more for
water? Why do you want us to subsidise the poor’? In my view, you
should consider water a good like any other, like tomatoes for
instance.
If you believe you cannot afford the good, you will have to subsidise
it one way or another. The state must come up with some mechanism to
help those who can’t afford the good, be it water or tomatoes. In some
countries like South Africa, you have cheaper water tariffs for the
poor. Those tariffs however, are subsidised by the state, not by the
utility.
Role and Mission of NWSC
The National Water and Sewerage Corporation is a Government Parastatal
which was initially created by a decree in 1972 and whose existence is
now provided for in the NWSC Act. Its main function is to provide water
and sewerage services to major urban centers of Uganda entrusted to it
by Government on a commercial and viable basis.
Areas of Operation
The National Water and Sewerage Corporation towns of operation have
grown from 3 towns in 1972, to the current 22 towns namely: Kampala,
Jinja/Njeru, Entebbe, Tororo, Mbale, Masaka, Mbarara, Gulu, Lira, Fort
Portal, Kasese, Kabale, Arua, Bushenyi/Ishaka, Soroti, Iganga, Malaba,
Lugazi, Mukono, Mubende, Hoima and Masindi. Mukono water services is
managed by Kampala Area; Malaba is under Tororo Area while, Lugazi is
managed under Jinja Area. The town of Iganga is currently under going
rehabilitation with funding from ADB.
Vision Statement
The Vision of National Water and Sewerage Corporation as defined in the
2006- 2009 Corporate Plan is to be “One of the Leading Water Utilities
in the World”.
Mission Statement
In line with the Vision Statement the Mission of the Corporation is to
“Provide Efficient and Cost Effective Water and Sewerage Services,
Applying Innovative Managerial Solutions to the Satisfaction of our
Customers”.
Strategies
Since 1998, the NWSC has implemented a series of short-term performance
enhancement programmes. These have been implemented within the context
of the NWSC Corporate Plan, and later, the performance Contract with
Government. The short-term enhancement programmes carried out have
included;
- 100 Days program, which focused on reversing the operational &
financial inefficiencies within the NWSC (1999).
- Service and Revenue Enhancement Programmes I&II (SEREP) which
aimed at restoring customer confidence in NWSC operations and thus
service enhancement (1999-2000).
- Area & Service Performance Contracts (APCs) which aimed at
break-even (covering all cash operation costs) of areas by empowering
managers and giving them autonomy to take decisions (2000 – 2003).
- Stretch Out Programme which aimed at improving cash operating margins
in Areas by reducing bureaucracy, increasing speed, simplicity, worker
involvement, and instilling self confidence (2002/03).
- This was later augmented with the One-Minute Manager concept, which
focused on individual accountabilities. (2003/04).
- Internally Delegated Area Management Contracts (IDAMCs), were
introduced in 2004 to further promote autonomy and empowerment in the
areas and is based on the principle of separation of the function of
asset management from that of operations.
- In line with the implementation and consolidation of the Internally
Delegated Area Management Contracts (IDAMCs), management developed the
“checkers system”. The program was meant to enhance the monitoring role
of the Head Office and to improve efficiency in the operations of the
Areas.
- During the year 2004/05, faced with an increasing demand for services
in Kampala, the NWSC management decentralized and devolved functions
from the centre in Kampala to the branches. With the introduction of
the decentralization policy. The branches assumed responsibility for
the operational functions, including new connections, mains extensions,
leak control and billings.
- Between the years 2004 to 2006, the Corporations instituted two
successive simplified connection policies for its water and sewerage
services. The simplified water connection policy, which entailed the
free connection of all customers within a radius of 50 meters from the
NWSC mains, was aimed at reducing water losses, accelerating service
coverage and in particular service to the urban poor.
On the other hand, the simplified sewerage connection policy was aimed
at improving sewerage coverage, capacity utilization of sewage
treatment ponds and plants and conservation of the environment.
NWSC Achievements: 1998 to 2007
The above-mentioned programmes have yielded significant achievements in
the NWSC operations over the last eight years, which may be summarised
as follows:
- Coverage increased from 47% in 1998 to 71% in 2007
- Turnover increased from Shs 21 billion in 1998 to Shs 70 billion in 2007.
- Operating profit after depreciation increased from a loss of Shs 2
billion in 1998 to a surplus of Shs 6.5 billion in 2007.
- Water sales increased from 22 million cubic meters per annum in 1998
to 40 million cubic meters in 2007.
- Water losses, one of the main measures of water utility efficiency,
reduced from 54% in 1998 to 32% in 2007.
- The customer base increased from 50,826 connections in 1998 to 180,697 in 2007.
- Staff productivity improved from 36 staff per 1000 connections in
1998 to 7 staff per 1000 connections in 2007.
- As a deliberate effort to serve the poorer communities, the
Corporation installed an average of 300 water kiosks per annum.
- The Corporation increased its contribution to capital investment
which now stands at 40% of the total annual capital programme.
NWSC EXTERNAL SERVICES
Drawing from its own experiences, the NWSC through its External
Services Unit embarked on a mission to share its knowledge and
expertise with sister utility companies thereby promoting South-South
as well as North-South cooperation. The NWSC provides a whole range of
consultancy services categorized as advisory and core utility services.
Core utility services cover the broad spectrum of the water supply and
sanitation service chain from the water resources management
(abstraction point/water source) to the point of delivering water to
the users (the down side of usage). These services include; water
quality monitoring, static plant maintenance, and block mapping as well
as billing and commercial & customer care services. The NWSC also
provides advisory services drawing from its own experiences, and this
includes among others organizational behaviour change, contract design
& incentive systems, and monitoring & evaluation systems.
The provision of consultancy services to various utilities in the
region has uplifted their performance and created synergies within
water utility providers. Some of the sister utilities that have
partnered with NWSC include;
• Dar es Salaam Water and Sewerage Authority/Dar es Salaam Water and Sewerage Corporation, Tanzania
• Nairobi Water and Sewerage company Limited, Kenya
• Lake Victoria Water Services Board, Kenya
• Nkana Water and Sewerage Company, Zambia
• Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company, Zambia
• Alam Group of Companies, Uganda
• Directorate of Water Development, Uganda
• PA Government Services Inc, USA
• UN HABITAT
• Nakuru Water and Sanitation Company Limited, Kenya
NWSC CAPITAL PROJECTS: 2007
The Corporation’s foundation and ability to effectively provide
services is underscored by a robust capital investment programme. The
following are the projects that have been undertaken, or are being
undertaken by the Corporation.
Gaba I Project (Phase I & II)
The Gaba 1 water works was refurbished with funding from the EU at a
cost of 4.5 million Euro. The project was undertaken in two phases.
Phase I was completed and commissioned in May 2002 and resulted into an
increase of water production from 30,000 cubic meters to 40,000 cubic
meters per day.
Phase II construction works involved the modification and upgrading of
the processing units. Project works were completed in June 2004. Phase
II increased water production from 40,000 to 65,000 cubic meters per
day.
Construction of New Gaba III Plant
The Gaba III project was implemented with funding from the German
Government (through KfW) under a turnkey arrangement. The project cost
was US $13.8 million, and was completed in 2007. The project resulted
into an additional production of 80,000 cu.m of water per day and will
be able to meet the needs in Kampala up to the year 2014.
The project will also re-enforce the supply of water to Mukono town,
Kajjansi, Nansana, Matuga, and Buloba. The Gaba III project was
complimented with the construction of transmission mains from Gaba to
Muyenga, Gun Hill and Rubaga Reservoirs.
Extension of Services to Peri-Urban Areas
In Kampala, water mains extensions have been made to various peri-urban
areas with funding from NWSC’s own internally generated sources and
plans are underway to further extend services to greater Kampala. So
far, extensions have been made to Kyanja, Kyeyagalire, Kirinya,
Bulenga, Lubowa, Bunamwaya, Seguku, Nansana, Kiwatule-Nabe Road,
Kinawa-Mugongo, Kamwokya-Kifumbira, Kiteezi and Buddo/Nabbingo.
Extensions have also been made in the Areas of Kyengera-Wakimese,
Kisenyi, Buziga, Bukasa, Buziga-Upper Konge, Buziga-Katuso,
Lukuli-Kiwempe, Biina, Kirombe, Butabiika, Matuga. These extensions
have resulted into better service delivery to the people especially
those in the outskirts of Kampala.
Rehabilitation of Entebbe Water and Sewerage System
The Entebbe Water Supply and Sewerage system was rehabilitated with
funding from the German Government through KfW. The project increased
water production from 8,000 cu.m of water per day to 20,000 cu.m of
water per day. Water supply from the project was extended along Entebbe
road up to Kajjansi. This will help improve water supply to the entire
neighbourhood along the Kampala- Entebbe Corridor.
Rehabilitation and Expansion of the Jinja/Njeru Water and Sewerage Systems
The rehabilitation and expansion of the Jinja/Njeru Water and Sewerage
systems was completed in 2003 with funding from IDA. A total of 40 km
of water mains extensions were made, which has covered the Njeru and
Mbiko area. As a result of the extensions, a total of 3,000 new water
connections were installed. The water supply is now sufficient to last
up to 2015.As an addition, water supply to Iganga is to be sourced from
the Jinja water production system.
Rehabilitation and Expansion of the Kabale Water and Sewerage Systems
In Kabale, the Water Supply and Sewerage systems were refurbished and
expanded with funding from the German Government (KfW). Works were
completed in October 2002. The works entailed the construction of a new
intake, water works, sewerage treatment plant and the rehabilitation
and expansion of the water and sewerage network.
A total of 8 km transmission mains, 33 km of distribution mains, and 23
km of service pipes were extended by the project. The project was
commissioned on January 23rd 2003 by H.E, the President. As an addendum
to the project the water supply was extended to various hills in Kabale
including Rugarama, and Rushorooza.
Mukono Water Supply Project
The Mukono Phase I Water Supply Project commenced in June 2004, and
entailed the laying of the transmission main from Namanve to Mukono,
distribution mains, and service connections. As a result, a total of
400 new connections were installed. The first phase of the project was
commissioned by H.E. the President in November 2004.
Phase II of the project, which is currently in progress, entails among
others the construction of reservoirs, booster pump stations at Seeta
& Mukono and laying of a reinforcing main from Mutungo to Namanve.
On completion of this project in June 2008, Mukono service area will be
directly supplied from Muyenga. This project is fully funded by the
Corporation.
Refurbishment of Gulu Water and Sewerage System
The Gulu water supply system is currently constrained due to the age of
the system and the increasing demand resulting from the influx of
people into the town. Consequently detailed designs for refurbishment
of the Gulu Water and Sewerage system were undertaken with funding from
the Corporation.
The detailed designs were completed in 2005, and currently funds are
being sourced for the implementation of the project from Development
partners. However in the interim, the NWSC with support from the
Government have committed Shs 3.5 billion to fund some critical works
which will ensure stable supply in the short term. The contractor is
already on site and works are on-going.
Kampala Sewerage Master Plan/14 Towns Sewerage Master Plan
In order to address the issue of low sewerage coverage in the urban
towns, the NWSC commissioned two studies. The studies funded by the
German Government through KfW, and the Canadian Development agency
included the Kampala Sanitation Master Plan, and the 14 towns
Sanitation Master Plans.
The studies have since been completed and funding for the
implementation of the downstream activities is being sought from
Development partners. So far, the German Government through KfW has
earmarked some funds for this project. On the other hand, the
Corporation through its internal resources is funding minor
interventions in its sewerage network.
Kampala Network Rehabilitation Project
The Kampala Network Rehabilitation Project is being funded by the
German Government. The project is aimed at the rehabilitation of the
network and other related investments, which would reduce on systems
losses in Kampala. Funds amounting to 3.3 million Euro have been
earmarked for this and implementation started two years ago.
The completion of the Kitante trunk main in 2005, which was one of the
main undertakings of the project, boosted water supply to the Nothern
Kampala areas of Kawempe, Bwaise and along Gayaza road. Under Illegal
Use Reduction Programme, efforts are geared towards monitoring the
entire distribution network so as to curb the incidence of illegal use
of water.
In addition, selected reservoirs of Kololo, Buziga, Kireka and Makindye
are being rehabilitated to improve realiability of water supply in the
respective areas. Furthermore, the NWSC has procured and installed
standby power generators at all its booster stations in Kampala to
ensure uniterrupted water supply.
Way Forward
In line with the overall water sector objectives of meeting the Poverty
Eradication Action Plan (PEAP) goals, and the Millenium Development
Goals (MDGs), the Corporation’s future plans will revolve around
ensuring equity in supply and service expansion in the different urban
centres. This will be carried out through strengthening the
Corporation’s Asset management and investment planning functions, and
ensuring improved operations at the area level.
|
| << Back to latest news |
|
|
|
| |
Copyright © 2008, National Water & Sewerage Corporation | Plot 39, Jinja Road, P.O. Box 7053 Kampala, Uganda
Tel: (+) 256 414 315100 / 0312 260 414/5, Fax: (+) 256 414 258 299 / 345 531, E-mail: info@nwsc.co.ug |
|
|
