The National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) has announced a strict disconnection strategy for all non-paying customers with outstanding arrears of more than one month.
The announcement was made by the Corporation’s Managing Director, Dr. Eng Sliver Mugisha, on Tuesday, 2, May, 2023, while addressing the media at NWSC head offices in Nakasero.
“Management has taken a painful decision to implement a strict disconnection strategy for all outstanding arrears of more than one month, with immediate effect,” Dr. Mugisha announced.
According to Dr. Mugisha, non-payment of water bills by some customer segments affects the ability of the corporation to effectively deliver services and meet its obligations.
“Non-payment of water bills by a number of customer segments, including the Uganda Police Force, Uganda Prisons, the Ministry of Defence, and other government institutions, is threatening service continuity,” Dr. Mugisha said.
He added that all government institutions that have accumulated domestic arrears above the discount invoicing threshold approved by the Ministry of Finance will be disconnected with immediate effect after failed attempts to heed PSST’s directives to consider water bills as the first call on quarterly releases consistently.
Entities such as the Ministry of Defense and Veteran Affairs, Uganda Police Service, and Uganda Prisons Service have accumulated arrears of Ugx 19b over and above the existing Ugx 43b arrears that the Ministry of Finance accepted to budget for and clear. The Ugx 19b arrears accrued between July 2022 and March 2023.
He also encouraged domestic users to ensure that their bills are paid to reduce the current arrears of over Ugx 18 billion.
“We pay for power, chemicals, and repair materials, among other production inputs, for every cubic meter of water supplied to customers. The providers of the production inputs need money to continue supplying us. We therefore urge customers to pay their water bills, ranging from as low as Ugx 5000 and above,” he said.
He also revealed that the Corporation is yet to implement projects in the districts of Soroti, Kanungu, Kalungu, Lyantonde, Moroto, Kyankwanzi, Kihihi, and Tororo, among others.
