A master plan leads to partnerships with national utilities
Published on: 01/08/2023
"We were hell-bent on doing things our own way, especially those that would bring us political mileage, like building unplanned, unsafe water sources. But we now know the least-served areas which need urgent attention, and how much money we need to reach everyone. We are more able to collaborate with other institutions by jointly pooling resources and agreeing on priorities."
– Peter Dauda Bazira, District Councillor for Kicwamba Sub County, Member of District Executive as Secretary for Finance and Gender, and Chairperson of the Kabarole District WASH Task Team
Since 2018, when the Kabarole District Local Government started implementing their WASH master plan, the district has transformed the way it plans, manages, and accounts for WASH services. They even established a WASH task team to track implementation and progress.
As a result, every sub-county and town council has at least a part of its population served by a piped water network. Almost half (46%) the population now has access to water from a piped water tap – an astonishing achievement given that almost nobody in rural areas had piped water six years ago.
The rural district has even made a partnership with the giant National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) which usually only works in urban areas.
IRC Uganda is now supporting neighbouring Bunyangabu district to develop a WASH master plan after ensuring that the district developed a detailed WASH roadmap. Together the two districts will reach a combined population of more than 495,300 people.
