The National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) has announced that it will disconnect water supply to several government agencies including the Uganda Police, Army, and Uganda Prisons if they do not pay their outstanding water bills. According to NWSC Managing Director Silver Mugisha, these entities have accumulated over UGX 19 billion in arrears, which is affecting the delivery of services to other users. During a press conference on May 2, 2023, at the head offices in Nakasero, Dr Mugisha stated that the corporation has made a painful decision to implement strict disconnection measures for all outstanding arrears exceeding one month. If payment is not made, UMEME will switch off the water supply since suppliers need their money to keep the service running.
Dr Mugisha expressed particular concern about the Ministry of Defense and Veteran Affairs, Uganda Police Service, and Uganda Prisons Service, which have accumulated arrears of UGX 19 billion on top of the existing UGX 43 billion arrears that the Ministry of Finance has agreed to budget for and clear. The UGX 19 billion arrears were accrued between July 2022 and March 2023.
Dr Mugisha also explained that NWSC pays for power, chemicals, and repair materials, among other production inputs, for every cubic meter of water supplied to customers. The corporation depends on the payment of water bills to continue supplying water to its customers. Dr Mugisha urged customers to pay their water bills, starting from as low as UGX 5,000 and above.
The NWSC Managing Director concluded that all government institutions that have exceeded the discount invoicing threshold approved by the Ministry of Finance will be disconnected immediately after unsuccessful attempts to follow the PSST’s directive to consider water bills as a priority on quarterly releases.
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