Kamuli water project commissioned, Parliament approves funding for phase two

The Parliamentary Committee on National Economy has endorsed the government’s request to secure a loan for phase two of the Strategic Towns Water Supply Project, hailing the Ministry of Water and Environment for its commitment to improving citizens’ livelihoods.

The announcement was made during a joint assessment tour and official handover of the newly completed Kamuli Water Supply and Sanitation System to the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) at Mbulamuti Water Plant, Kamuli District.

The project, implemented by M/S Vidas Engineering Services Company Ltd, features a new water treatment plant, pump houses, sedimentation tanks, and public stand-posts. It is expected to boost water and sanitation services in Kamuli by 80 percent. The contractor will remain responsible for addressing any defects during the liability period.

Committee chairperson John Bosco Ikojo, MP for Bukedea, explained that Parliament received the loan request in April from the Ministry of Finance to fund phase two, in line with Article 159 of the Constitution.

“In April, Ministry of Finance presented a loan request towards implementation of a project to finance Phase II of Strategic Towns Water Supply System in line with the first project implemented in Phase I to improve water supply system,” Ikojo said.

He noted that the second phase, expected to be financed through Standard Chartered Bank, will be carefully scrutinized to avoid undue debt burden.

“Yes, Standard Chartered Bank is offering a commercial loan which we may need a lot of money to pay off and looking at our national debt service strategy we may need to get a more concessional loan to finance social services. But we are also mindful of the fact that we need water for sustainability of development, domestic and industrial production,” Ikojo added.

Dr. Felix Twinomucunguzi, Assistant Commissioner in the Urban Water and Sewerage Department, raised concerns about intermittent power supply during load shedding, which hampers pumping capacity.

“Because we have heavy and big pumps we cautiously can’t go an equally heavy generator as it will impact on the consumer so we are seeking intervention and in discussion with UEDCL to provide us with a dedicated power line not subjected to routine load shedding so as to have continuous water supply to the communities. We also encourage more customers to connect to the system because as of now with a five times capacity of 2,000 customers we have only connected 700,” he appealed.

Local MPs also weighed in, stressing the importance of local content in the upcoming phase. Henry Maurice Kibalya, MP for Bugabula South, urged that communities directly benefit.

“We are happy and appreciate the project but observe that Phase I did not cater for local content so our demand is that in Phase II we want the community to own and feel the project, let the money remain in the local economy and the project make impact with tangible corporate social responsibility not merely latrines,” Kibalya said.

Earlier, community member Ruth Namusisi requested the provision of a latrine at Bugondha Primary School, the nearest school to the plant.

At the handover ceremony, Kamuli Deputy RDC Adonia Mafumo commended the project for improving livelihoods by reducing both water costs and the burden of waterborne diseases.

“From our community dialogues and field visits, the public has commended the improved water supply system which has seen a great reduction hence affordability of safe and clean water saving 400/= a jerry can which translates to reduction in the waterborne disease burden. So we need to not only appreciate, support but also embrace government interventions,” Mafumo said.