Page 46 of 72
Previous Page     Next Page        Smaller fonts | Larger fonts     Go back to the flash version

of the pollution into the lake, while fishing villages account for 15 per cent and industries for 8 per cent. Further research (Hutton and others 2007) attributed the rising levels of pollution in Kampala to: • Poor sewerage infrastructure, including leaking old sewer pipes, and poorly constructed and managed septic tanks and sewage treatment works contaminating ground and surface water; and

• Wide use of pit latrines, especially in the slums, contributing to pollution of surface and groundwater in the high water table areas of Kampala.

IMPROVING KAMPALA’S WATER AND SANITATION SERVICES

Established in 1972, the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) sought to address the need for improved water and sanitation service delivery in the major urban centres of Uganda. Over the years the NWSC faced operational and financial challenges, including high volumes of unaccounted-for water, caused mainly by leakages and illegal connections, and accounting for 60 per cent of all treated water. The utility was also overstaffed, with the salaries and wages bill accounting for 64 per cent of the total operating costs (Baieti and others 2006).

Through reforms that started in 1998, the utility managed to rehabilitate the water and sewerage infrastructure, and to increase water production capacity. To further consolidate and improve performance, the NWSC headquarters later entered into Area Performance Contracts with its subsidiary utilities to increase managerial autonomy, introduce performance incentives and hold the subsidiary operators more accountable. In addition to improving safe water access and sanitation services by the poor, the reforms were also designed to encourage (Baieti and others 2006): • Simplification by reducing bureaucracy; • Motivation in order to improve the speed of work with clarity of expectations;

• Participation so as to increase worker involvement and self confidence;

• Transformation by removing organizational boundaries; and • Prioritization by setting appropriate performance targets and rewarding progress.

According to Mugisha and others (2004), NWSC reforms resulted in improved staff productivity with the ratio of staff costs to

46

Previous arrowPrevious Page     Next PageNext arrow        Smaller fonts | Larger fonts     Go back to the flash version
1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |  6  |  7  |  8  |  9  |  10  |  11  |  12  |  13  |  14  |  15  |  16  |  17  |  18  |  19  |  20  |  21  |  22  |  23  |  24  |  25  |  26  |  27  |  28  |  29  |  30  |  31  |  32  |  33  |  34  |  35  |  36  |  37  |  38  |  39  |  40  |  41  |  42  |  43  |  44  |  45  |  46  |  47  |  48  |  49  |  50  |  51  |  52  |  53  |  54  |  55  |  56  |  57  |  58  |  59  |  60  |  61  |  62  |  63  |  64  |  65  |  66  |  67  |  68  |  69  |  70  |  71  |  72