Reform of the Urban Water & Sanitation Sector Programme (RUWASS)

Despite abundant natural water resources, many urban residents in Uganda do not have adequate access to safe water and sanitation services, and the poor incur the highest costs. This is primarily due to limited financing for the sector, as well as management and governance problems in urban water supply and sanitation. Population growth and rising rural-urban migration have exerted additional undue pressure on inadequate urban facilities, leading to ill-health from sanitation-related diseases and making it difficult for communities, institutions and individuals to realize their full economic potential.

Yard taps help urban poor access safe water

Public Water Collection Tap

In order to improve the situation, the Government of Uganda (GoU), in agreement with stakeholders, embarked on a comprehensive programme of improvement in services in the urban sub-sector under the overall sector reforms. In the above framework, the GTZ supported Reform of the Urban Water Sector programme commenced in 2002. This project was commissioned with the aim to support the initiatives by the GoU to develop the Urban Sub-Sector into an efficient, sustainable, and affordable service to the population, underscored by sound governance, efficient investment management, and a cost efficient delivery system. The GoU wishes to limit its role to that of policy maker, facilitator and regulator, thus leaving delivery to the private sector as far as practically possible. The following sector objectives guide the reform process and are the basis for the reform programme.

Service Coverage:– To progressively improve service coverage to give 100% of the population access to safe water and appropriate sanitation by 2015, in line with the maxim “Some for all, rather than all for some.”

Sustainability:– To ensure sustainability of service delivery. This includes the reduction of government subsidies if they remain necessary, or at least improving the efficiency of such subsidies. The successful introduction of Private Sector Participation (PSP) would be a cornerstone of achieving this goal.

Affordability:– To ensure that a basic adequate level of service is affordable via low-cost service delivery and the implementation of a subsidy and tariff framework which is equitable and beneficial to the poor.

Water as a Social and Economic good:– It remains an underlying objective to ensure that water, as a social and economic good, is managed in the best way, bringing consequent benefits, infrastructure and economic development, such as health to the nation.

It is important to note that the reform programme supports the Ugandan Government initiative of achieving the targets of the national poverty reduction strategy (PEAP / PRSP) as well as of the UN Millennium Declaration in the area of water supply and sanitation. Since the start of the implementation of the activities under the project, sector reviews have shown significant improvements in terms of improved safe water coverage and access, increased reliability of water supplies, performance in billing and revenue collections, recovery on O&M costs and records by individual water and sewerage authorities.