Water crisis hits Mukono
Jan 08, 2006
THERE is an acute water shortage in Mukono town council, pushing the cost of a 20-litre jerrycan from sh200 to sh300.
By Apollo Mubiru
THERE is an acute water shortage in Mukono town council, pushing the cost of a 20-litre jerrycan from sh200 to sh300.
The shortage has been attributed to the long dry spell in many parts of the country and the delay by the National Water and Sewerage Cooperation (NWSC) to boost its supply since early 2005.
Speaking to The New Vision on phone on Friday, Mukono mayor Johnson Muyanja Ssenyonga said, “We have a very big problem of water shortage in the town council. In my village, I have to pay sh200 a jerrycan. At the moment we do not have any provision. We still depend on our protected springs and boreholes.â€
Muyanja said a few households which were connected in the first phase of water supply had water. He said the most affected residents were those in Nabuti, where he resides.
Reports from Nabuti said residents wake up at 2:00am to line up at the springs and boreholes.
Some opposition politicians have capitalised on the water shortage to decampaign the government in the area.
During the 2001 presidential campaigns, President Yoweri Museveni promised piped water to Mukono town which was fixed last year.
However, some residents say ever since the connections, water has never flowed.
The angry residents are now waiting for the president during his campaign in the area to lodge in their complaints.
They accused the mayor and area MP Peter Bakaluba Mukasa of not following up the water issue.
Ends
THERE is an acute water shortage in Mukono town council, pushing the cost of a 20-litre jerrycan from sh200 to sh300.
The shortage has been attributed to the long dry spell in many parts of the country and the delay by the National Water and Sewerage Cooperation (NWSC) to boost its supply since early 2005.
Speaking to The New Vision on phone on Friday, Mukono mayor Johnson Muyanja Ssenyonga said, “We have a very big problem of water shortage in the town council. In my village, I have to pay sh200 a jerrycan. At the moment we do not have any provision. We still depend on our protected springs and boreholes.â€
Muyanja said a few households which were connected in the first phase of water supply had water. He said the most affected residents were those in Nabuti, where he resides.
Reports from Nabuti said residents wake up at 2:00am to line up at the springs and boreholes.
Some opposition politicians have capitalised on the water shortage to decampaign the government in the area.
During the 2001 presidential campaigns, President Yoweri Museveni promised piped water to Mukono town which was fixed last year.
However, some residents say ever since the connections, water has never flowed.
The angry residents are now waiting for the president during his campaign in the area to lodge in their complaints.
They accused the mayor and area MP Peter Bakaluba Mukasa of not following up the water issue.
Ends