CEO Today Af r i ca Award s 2022 - UGANDA - - 10 - Incorporating organic community and stakeholder connectivity and consultative systems Emphasis has also been put on improved engagement with local authorities, communities and other key stakeholders. Water Community Sensitisation (WACOSE) Clubs and Water Barazas were introduced in order to improve communication between NWSC and the communities and also to gain feedback on NWSC services, successes and failures. School Water and Sanitation (SWAS) Clubs were launched as a program targeting the next generation. Prioritising staff welfare and motivation NWSC identifies human resources development as a key strategic goal commensurate with NWSC’s core value of continuously developing and imparting relevant skills to staff, so as to improve service delivery. Can you share anything about your longterm plans at the Corporation? TheNationalWater andSewerageCorporationhas rolled out a newCorporate Plan 2021-2024. The Plan is premised on the overarching government policy of transforming Uganda from an undeveloped nation to a modern and prosperous economy as enshrined in the country’s strategic plans: National Development Plan (NDP III), Government Manifesto and Vision 2040. The Corporate Plan (2021-2024) will be implemented under the theme “Transformative Accountable and Sustainable Service Delivery”. The new plan will focus on a number of strategic priority areas, namely: • Industrialisation and Infrastructure Development; • Skilling and Workforce Development; • Private Sector Involvement and • Organisational Health Sustainability. We have developed five key “golden indicators” within our corporate plan. These indicators are guided by figures and analytics. 1. Currently, NWSC boasts of total assets worth about 3.9 trillion shillings. We would like this to grow to about 6 trillion shillings over the next five years. As you can see, we have very big growth plans. 2. We would like to grow our current customer connection base from 8300,027 connections to 1,200,000 connections in the next five years. This will result into an increase of people served from 18 million to about 25 million customers. 3. We would like to see growth in the current customer satisfaction index from 86% to 90%minimum. 4. We would like to see an improved level of staff engagement. 5. Lastly, we would like to reduce our water losses to a level of less than 33%. This way we generate more revenue to serve the people of Uganda. What undertakings has NWSC put in place to stay afloat even amidst these difficult times? The Corporation has developed a number of strategic undertakings and rolled out several performance improvement programs aimed at boosting service delivery and enhancing service coverage. These include, among others: Geographical expansion (takeover of new towns) The Corporation, in collaboration with the Ministry of Water and Environment, has increased service coverage through a deliberate and systematic takeover of towns. The Corporation has grown from 26 towns in 2013 to 262 towns to date. Water supply stabilisation plans (WSSP) The plans entail quick-win investments in water production infrastructure to improve water supply reliability. Service Coverage Acceleration Project (SCAP 100) The SCAP 100 Project entails expansion of the NWSC pipe network by at least 8,000 kilometres and the installation of 140,000 newwater connections, including 20,000 public stand posts (PSPs) to cover 12,000 villages. Implementation of capital development projects The government’s target is to ensure that all Ugandans have access to safe water and sanitation by 2040. To address this need, NWSC is implementing a number of capital development projects in various towns. The projects are largely financed by the government of Uganda in collaboration with development partners. The Corporation also sets aside funds from its internal revenues for refurbishing and expanding the water infrastructure on an annual basis. NWSC has excelled in its performance over the years, and as such presents a strong balance sheet. Because of our financial performance NWSC has been able to acquire market financing from local banks amounting to 95 billion Ugandan Shillings. Using the locally financed resources we want to set up water supply projects in the towns of Kalungu, Lyantonde, Busheyi, Moroto, Soroti, Tororo, Lira, and Kyankwanzi. Using locally financed resources, we want to set up water supply projects in the towns of Kalungu, Lyantonde, Busheyi, Moroto, Soroti, Tororo, Lira and Kyankwanzi. With financing from development partners, we are planning for huge projects in Mbarara, Masaka, Arua, Mbale, Gulu, Jinja and many other towns. We have many projects lined up and several that are ongoing. We have recently completed works for the Katosi Drinking Water Treatment Plant and Katosi-Kampala Transmission Mains Projects, which are part of the wider Kampala Water – Lake Victoria Water and Sanitation Project (KW-LVWATSAN) Project. The project’s main objective is to improve the living conditions of the residents in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area through provision of safe and reliable water supply services. Works have also been completed for the largest wastewater treatment plant in Central and Eastern Africa. The Nakivubo wastewater treatment plant has the capacity to treat 45,000 cubic metres of water per day. The plant generates electricity from biogas as part of our waste to energy strategy. The electricity generated is enough to run all the operations of the modern plant. Stakeholder engagement programmes While focusing on the implementation of supplying water and sewerage services, we take into consideration the need to balance this mandate with the needs of all the stakeholders.
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