UPDF, Prisons and Mulago to face water disconnection

Feb 15, 2017

It is now the second week since the water supply to various Police stations and barracks in Kampala was cut off by NWSC

 

Four government agencies owe National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) a total of sh22bn with Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) having the biggest outstanding bill of sh10b followed by Police with sh6b, with Prisons and Mulago Hospital both at sh5b.

However it is only Police that has been disconnected so far.

Other agencies will follow suit if they also fail to clear their outstanding bills according to the NWSC public relations manager Samuel Apedel in an interview with New Vision.

Apedel said all these agencies were put on the prepaid system and will be cut off as soon as the units get used up, because the corporation will not extend more credit to the said metres until the outstanding balances are cleared first.

It is now the second week since the water supply to various Police stations and barracks in Kampala was cut off by NWSC. The affected stations are Naguru Police Headquarters, Kampala Central Police Station (CPS), Jinja Road Police Station and Wandegeya Police Station.

The disconnection of the water supply followed a notice at the beginning of the month by NWSC director of commercial services and customer care, George Akol, to pay the outstanding bills lest water supply be cut off.

The same warning was issued to UPDF, Mulago National Referral Hospital and Uganda Prison Services.

"The UPDF, Prisons and Mulago Hospital are still receiving water supply but this might also be short-lived if they fail to clear in the shortest time possible" Apedel said.

"This pre-paid system works like UMEME's Yaka, therefore it is also a matter of time and their supply will automatically be cut off if they have not cleared their dues by then" he explained.

Apedel said that such outstanding bills affect the corporation's ability to serve the wider public since a lot of money is spent on electricity and chemicals for treating the water.

Electricity alone takes up to sh4bn a month, which the corporation spends on pumping water according to Apedel.

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