By Simon Turibamwe
Residents of Njeru Central and Nyenga Divisions in Njeru Municipality Buikwe district have accused National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) for continual issuance of water bills yet the area has been hit by water shortage for a long time.
Residents claim that the area has suffered water shortage for the last two complete moths but the water distributer is still delivering water bills. The incident has though become an opportunity for water venders to sale a 20-liter jerrycan in between 2000 and 2500 respectively. They said that even when the vendors are selling their water expensively, getting one is also a challenge because they are booked by people who buy in large quantities. Most of the affected villages include Ntinda, Naava, Namwezi, Lugazi II, Kafunta, Buzzika, Bukaya, Kyabagu and Kiryowa among others. They claim that much as they understand that water can automatically disappear from the taps, the NWSC has been reluctant to solve the problem by not supplementing the supply with a reservoir tank in Kizungu cell.
They say that NWSC officials annoy them the more when they move around distributing water bills or sometimes disconnecting dry taps instead of addressing the problem. Fayizo Namayuba, the vice chairperson for Njeru Division in Njeru Municipality confirmed the scarcity of water in the area which he blamed on the NWSC’s failure to erect a second reservoir tank to boost the supply. He said that whatever excuse given by NWSC will not be satisfying until they erect a 2nd reservoir tank which they promised years ago.
Mis Jaqueline Nantabazi one of the residents said that despite having no water at her home, the NWSC staff have continued giving her bills which has irritated her. “I’m irritated by these people bringing here bills when there is supply. What are they billing in this case when we don’t have water in taps? Nantabazi asked. There is fear that girls and women risk being raped by goons who have taken the same advantage as they walk long distance in search for water. Charles Okuonzi, the Jinja area NWSC manager said that people should be patient as th team is looking forward to end the problem forever by boosting main pumping and tansfer of affected lines to new ones. Okuonzi added that some villages are suffering from water shortage due to pipes that were broken during the ongoing construction on Katosi-Nyenga-river Nile bridge road section. Water supply in this area is estimated at 7,182 customers and that among these 6,080 are domestic users, 682 commercial and institutions 241 are stand pipes putting water consumption in Njeru at a total of 74 cubic million litters per months. National Water and Sewerage Corporation has the monopoly of water supply in Uganda’s urban areas. For comments, call or text us on 0752510225.
