Overview & country report

Uganda has a population of just over 30 million, over 80% of whom live in rural areas. Economic reforms since 1990 have resulted in strong economic growth based on Uganda’s focus on investment in infrastructure, lower inflation and better domestic security. The global economic downturn has hurt Uganda’s exports however, although Uganda’s GDP growth is still relatively strong due to past reforms and sound management of the downturn. Uganda is classed as a less developed country with a GDP per capita of US$1,196 (IMF, 2010).

Administrative set up

The country is divided into over 100 districts, and each district is then divided into sub-districts, counties, parishes and villages.

Main sector institutions

  • At the national level the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) has overall responsibility for initiating the national policies and for setting national standards and priorities for water development and management.
  • The Directorate of Water Development (DWD) is placed within the MWE and is the lead agency responsible for managing water resources, coordinating and regulating all water activities, and providing support services to local government and other service providers.
  • In the process of decentralisation, Technical Support Units (TSU)s, were set up to provide ad hoc strategic capacity building to district local governments (DLGs). The four major regions of the country are divided into eight sub-regions constituting eight TSUs, each headed by a Focal Point Officer.
  • The District Water Office (DWO) is the lead office for the water sector at DLG level. Its main responsi­bilities are planning and implementation (e.g. procurement, contract management, reporting and accountability). The DWO is also responsible for capacity building, as well as ensuring O&M of water facilities through private operators for rural piped water schemes and Water User Committees (WUCs) for rural point water sources.
  • The District Water and Sanitation Coordination Committee (DWSCC) provides a platform for coordinating and harmonising of approaches in the implementation of the activities of the rural water and sanitation sector in the DLG, and strengthens collaboration across sectors and between different players.
  • In Rural Growth Centres (RGCs) and Small Towns, Water User Associations (umbrella organisations) and sub-county Water Supply and Sewerage Boards (WSSBs), through contracted private operators, are the major actors for O&M.
  • WUCs are responsible for day-to-day O&M and administration of point water supplies and, in some cases, gravity-fed systems.

Service Delivery Models

There is a policy framework defining and specifying Service Delivery Models for rural areas, RGCs and urban areas, each taking a different form. These are largely, though not exclusively, linked to technology options and settlement type. The two principal Service Delivery Models recognised in sector policy are:

  1. WSSBs, through contracted private operators for Small Towns and RGCs: there are two alternatives – handpump mechanics and scheme attendants who provide maintenance services to water users in rural and peri-urban areas, operating as private entrepreneurs and system caretakers, respectively.
  2. Community Based Management System (CBMS) for rural water supply: the CBMS model has a number of limitations, but currently is considered the appropriate option for what are mainly point sources (handpumps and springs) in rural commu­nities. It is recognised that efforts should go into “professionalising” the CBMS.

Self-Supply Initiatives are promoted and recognised, but are not formally stated in any policy statement. The self–supply approach is complementary to conventional CBMS, whereby Government or NGOs pay for between 90 and 100% of the cost of the physical infrastructure. The MWE has now embarked on the process of developing a comprehensive framework for self-supply. It tries to set out the roles and responsibilities of various actors, and calls for further definition of the possible technologies required.

Key issues

Real effort is being made to decentralise rural water supply to DLG. A comprehensive programme has been established with clear responsibilities for service pro­viders and DLG, through which the DLG receives support from central government. This is accompanied by a comprehensive financing mechanism. The advanced SWAp, in which government and key development partners pool funds for one WASH programme, has resulted in reduced fragmentation of effort, and better alignment with government policy and approaches.