By Mulengera News
Bushenyi district is witnessing a dramatic sanitation revival following a massive expansion of piped water under President Yoweri Museveni’s National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), a move local leaders say has transformed lives and restored public health dignity.
By October 2025, leaders in Bushenyi District were openly praising NWSC for closing long-standing sanitation gaps that had left communities vulnerable for years. They revealed that before the water extensions, sanitation conditions were dire, with alarming statistics showing that more than 80 percent of residents were using toilets without washing their hands due to lack of clean water access.
This dangerous situation had exposed communities to preventable diseases such as typhoid, cholera, diarrhea, and dysentery, with the crisis hitting hardest in densely populated areas like government-aided and private schools.
During the district budget conference in October 2025, the District Chief Administrative Officer, Sanyu Phionah Nyamutoro, reported that safe water coverage had now surged to 85 percent. She attributed this milestone to coordinated efforts by various stakeholders, with NWSC playing a central role.
District leaders highlighted that NWSC stepped in at a critical time, taking over most gravity flow schemes that had collapsed due to poor maintenance, leaving thousands without access to safe and clean water. The district chairman, Jaffari Bassajjabalaba, emphasized that NWSC remained the only serious development partner in the safe water sector, noting that while the district had repaired boreholes and springs, the majority of water extensions and household connections were delivered by NWSC.
The impact of this investment has been particularly visible in Kakanju Sub- County, where NWSC implemented a water project worth over Shs11 billion. Local councilor Adinan Tumuhairwe described the area as completely transformed, especially in terms of sanitation, stressing that the district could not function effectively without NWSC’s presence. He further revealed that the district council had resolved to formally partner with NWSC to address the remaining water and sanitation challenges.
However, despite the progress, concerns were raised during the same budget conference over the poor state of sanitation in several health centers that are meant to set the standard for hygiene. Officials reported that dilapidated structures and a lack of functional toilets or pit latrines were undermining sanitation efforts.
Health centers cited as being in critical condition included Kyeizoba, Rushinya, Swazi, Kabushaho, Nyabubare, and Nyarugote, all of which were said to be operating with old or full pit latrines.
As Bushenyi celebrates a water and sanitation breakthrough, leaders warned that urgent action is still needed to ensure health facilities do not become the weakest link in an otherwise remarkable transformation. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
