CAOs directed to repair all boreholes in the districts

Apr 02, 2020

According to Okidi, the directive is in line with the preventive measures issued by President Yoweri Museveni against the spread of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

COVID-19

KAMPALA - All Chief Administrative Officers (CAOs) have been directed to ensure that all boreholes in their respective districts are functional without fail.

The directive was made by Alfred Okot Okidi, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Water and Environment.

According to Okidi, the directive is in line with the preventive measures issued by President Yoweri Museveni against the spread of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Okidi emphasised that all CAOs are advised to prioritise the repair of non-functional boreholes in all districts using the district water grant.

"This is to ensure that all the population has access to clean and running water all the time without fail. This has to be done without fail because, without water, people can keep personal hygiene," Okidi said.

He said no district should claim that there is no money because it was sent annually and it is meant to support the implementation of water and sanitation services and infrastructure in the rural areas.

"The grant is for supporting rural water supply facilities, software activities for rural water supply and sanitation, rehabilitation of boreholes and piped water schemes. It also supports the construction of sanitation facilities, supervision, and monitoring and to cover the district water officer operational costs," Okidi said.

He added that the district water grant sent to the districts is sh56b, hence if divided amongst the 135 districts, each gets sh414m.

"There is no reason for someone to say the money is not there. For those thinking of construction, they should first prioritise the repair of the boreholes that are in place," he said.

He advised the communities to use clean containers when collecting water because if they are dirty, then you are contaminating the water which will end up causing other diseases.

What the CAOs says


Yusuf Ssenteza, CAO for Mityana District said the water grant was already being used to repair and also to have new boreholes in the districts.

However,  with the new directive, Ssenteza said they are going to leave areas that take a lot of funds and put more concentration and emphasis on repairs of the non-functional boreholes all over the district.

Ssenteza revealed that the district is lucky to have other stakeholders who have also ensured that the district has more functional boreholes.

In Nakasongola, Edith Nakate, the assistant CAO said the district is already using the grant though it is not enough to work on all the boreholes since the district is very big.

She, however, said they have tried to repair many boreholes and will continue, such that people have a steady supply of water.

According to Nakate, the district is still faced with the challenge of limited water supply in the town councils because all the services have been taken over by National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), which only works on piped water yet most town councils use boreholes.

"Because of this, we do not get grants for urban water services. We only get for rural areas hence, the boreholes in the outskirts of the town are not planned for. Even with NWSC, people are not connected to water," she said.

Nakate added that they also have a problem with NWSC, which takes long to respond when called on to solve issues of water.

"When you call them about water issues, they don't respond on time or they don't at all. This is a big challenge especially now that the country is need of water like never before," she said.

In Tororo district, Dunstan Balaba, the CAO said as a district they have tried to ensure that most of the boreholes in the district are functional.

According to Balaba, so far, using the grant, they have repaired over 100 boreholes since the financial of 2019/2020 started.

"So at least the problem is partly being solved. There are some few that are not yet repaired but with the directive, we are going to ensure that all are functional in the shortest time possible," Balaba said.

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