What you need to know:
- NWSC board chairperson Henry Alinaitwe said the vice is undermining efforts to extend water supply networks to new areas
The National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) has raised concern over a new form of vandalism in which culprits uproot newly installed steel water pipes and use them as building materials, leaving communities without access to piped water.
NWSC board chairperson Henry Alinaitwe said the vice is undermining efforts to extend water supply networks to new areas, increasing operational costs and frustrating the corporation’s efforts to provide reliable services.
Prof Alinaitwe cited an incident in his village where unknown people uprooted newly laid steel pipes, leaving the entire village without piped water for six months. He said he pipes were used to construct verandah sheds.
“In our tours and oversight role, we managed to find some challenges which we need to address together. Some of them include vandalism of some of our pipes. I can bear witness to that because in my home area, pipes were laid; there was a section which was a ditch deep. What the fool did was to cut the pipe and take the pipes to make a shed for their veranda in the village,” he said.
Prof Alinaitwe, who is also Makerere University’s deputy vice chancellor in charge of finance and administration, was speaking at NWSC’s 2025/2026 annual performance review meeting at International Resource Centre in Bugolobi, Kampala last Friday.
He urged district leaders to work with the corporation to curb vandalism, theft of equipment and other essential materials, illegal water connections and encroachment on water sources.
The board chairperson said such practices are disrupting water supply and increasing the cost of operating and maintaining the infrastructure.
The meeting brought together Resident District Commissioners, mayors and district chairpersons to discuss challenges affecting water supply and the corporation’s expansion plans.
The NWSC managing director, Mr Silver Mugisha, said the corporation invited political leaders to share feedback on water supply challenges in their respective districts and cities, as well as discuss interventions needed to improve service delivery.
Dr Mugisha said NWSC had identified 50 towns where it plans to extend water supply network, with some of the systems already designed while others are undergoing procurement processes to identify contractors.
He also urged leaders from beneficiary areas to lobby government to provide funding for the projects to facilitate their implementation.
He announced that the corporation was undertaking major water supply infrastructure works in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area (GKMA) to meet the rising demand.
The GKMA water supply network project involves rehabilitation, restructuring, rezoning and extension of the distribution in Kampala, Wakiso, Mukono and Buikwe districts.