Across the country, National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) faces mounting public anger as communities struggle with persistent water supply cuts, stalled meter installations, and repeated, unfulfilled promises.
In Nalumunye–Jomayi and Bukasa, Bweyogerere, residents say their taps have been dry for weeks. “We’ve gone a full month without water. What exactly is going on?” asked Nakiguli Sharon. Her neighbour, Patrick Kasobya, said it has been two months “without a drop,” leaving families desperate and confused.
The complaints stretch across Kampala’s outskirts and far beyond. In Kireka, Maurice Kasozi reported a two-week blackout. In Nansana, residents say shortages are now routine. “Every area is crying,” said Akampire Jean Kirabo. “It’s the same excuses every time.” Others accuse NWSC of painting an unrealistic picture of its performance. “How can you boast when Nansana has gone a whole week without water?” asked Belinda Nalubega.
In Kulambiro, Purity Kirabo said the situation has hit crisis levels. “Two months without water, and they still can’t repair one pump supplying an entire hill?” Similar frustration was echoed in Kawaala, Ziru Hosanna Estate in Entebbe and Kole Town, where residents feel abandoned.
“Three days without no water, what is the real problem?” asked Fred Kakaire. In Kole, Komakech Eddymond was stunned that “an entire district headquarters” could go dry just kilometres from Lira City.
Delayed connections are adding to the anger. In Gayaza–Kyetume, customers say they have waited weeks, sometimes months, for meters despite having fully paid. “I paid three weeks ago; nothing has been done,” said David Ocaya. “Their office is always off-network.” Ojok Jimmy, who has waited two months, wondered how such delays “count as an achievement.”
The discontent spreads farther afield. In Kabowa–Banda, residents say water appears only on Sundays. In Kamwenge, it disappears for weeks. And in Kalagi, Nakifuma, Ndese, Namaliri, Kabimbiri and Kasawo, towns barely 40 kms from Kampala, people question how they still have no access to piped water in 2025.
But NWSC has pushed back, blaming the worsening crisis on government’s ballooning arrears. Senior Engineering Advisor Eng. Alex Gisagara told Parliament’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee that MDAs now owe the utility UGX116 billion, up from UGX81.4 billion last financial year. Only UGX16 billion of that earlier commitment has been paid, and recent releases from the Ministry of Finance have delivered a mere UGX962 million, barely denting the debt.
The strain has grown so severe that NWSC petitioned Speaker Anita Among in January, triggering a parliamentary probe. Committee Chairperson Herbert Ariko said government has effectively become NWSC’s “principal debtor,” suffocating operations, delaying infrastructure upgrades and pushing contractors to sue or abandon projects.
“Over a period of about five years, the arrears had ballooned to UGX105 billion,” Ariko noted. “National Water had reached a point where it could no longer pay suppliers of pipes and materials, or contractors engaged to improve infrastructure. Many of these suppliers either took legal action against the corporation or halted their services entirely.”
The Auditor General’s 2024 report paints an even broader picture: NWSC is struggling to recover UGX355 billion in nationwide arrears, including UGX72.5 billion owed by government, some outstanding for more than two years. The report warned that the debts are threatening the quality, reliability and expansion of water services countrywide.
Although a handful of institutions, such as Naguru, Hoima, Arua and Fort Portal regional referral hospitals, recently cleared their bills, most MDAs remain far behind. Uganda Prisons Service managed to settle its UGX18.2 billion arrears only after its water budget nearly doubled this financial year.
NWSC says the core problem is structural: government consumes water worth UGX7 billion every month, yet many agencies receive allocations far below their actual usage, creating a perpetual cycle of unpaid bills.
Unless government acts swiftly, NWSC warns, the crisis will deepen, meaning the residents now crying out from Nalumunye, Nansana, Kulambiro, Kole, Kamwenge and beyond may face longer, more frequent and more disruptive water outages.
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