The two projects which were commissioned last week were funded by the International Water and Sanitation Centre [IRC] at a cost of shs 120million.

While commissioning the facilities, Ategeka commended IRC for its dedicated efforts in supplementing government’s work in the field of WASH.

“Under the Schools Facilities Grant [SFG], the district receives only shs 136million to cater for infrastructural needs of all schools annually, an amount that is not enough. This facility is worth shs 43million which is almost a third of the funds we receive under SFG and if it wasn’t for the good partners like IRC, we would be now struggling” Ategeka said.

He commended IRC for being on ground and doing tangible work.

Kasunganyanja health centre III sanitation facility has a four-stance pit latrine, a bathroom for women, water harvesting tank, a store and a urinal and the Kabonero piped water supply system has four public stand taps and a provision for extension of water to individual homesteads.

Ategeka appealed to communities to always make a contribution whenever there is need to repair the facilities so as to ensure their sustainability.

The IRC regional water advisor, Martin Watsisi said that they are making a deliberate effort to support health centres and schools because they are learning centres where people can find new things and go back to their homes to imitate them.

“I thank the district leadership for allowing us have an MOU with them and ensure that the process was successful. I however encourage the leadership of the facilities we have commissioned today to own them” he said.

He said the leadership should put in place mechanisms to ensure proper operation and maintenance to avoid the breakdown in future and they run to IRC for repairs.

He said as IRC, they have done their work but sustainability of these facilities is in the hands of the leadership and communities benefiting from them.

The Bunyangabu district Chief Administrative Officer [CAO], Isa Hood Nsubuga, commended IRC for being on ground and making impact in the district and respecting the MOU they signed with them.

He however cautioned NGOs that are doing nothing on ground despite having running MOUs with the district saying, they [district] will review the MOUs with non performing partners and terminate them where possible.

End. 

Currently, the average access to safe water in Kabarole district stands at 77 percent with some sub counties still facing significant challenges like Kijura town council which still stands at 7 percent. Of the 77 percent, only 27 percent of the population has access to water from protected springs, 58 percent relies on shallow well, 4 percent on boreholes and 12 percent on public taps. Since 2018, the district has been implementing a WASH master plan to conclude by 2030.

However, over the past years, the district has been grappling with WASH challenges which include limited access to clean and safe water, poor latrine coverage, open defecation and low hand washing coverage after visiting the latrine.

The Kabarole District Administrative officer (CAO), Swaibu Baraba said the National vision states that “water must be available within 300metres for every household by 2030”. He said, to realize the district’s WASH master plan by 2030, a substantial investment is required with $ 24.1mln allocated for water initiatives and $ 48.1 million for sanitation projects.

Kabarole district leaders say, some parts of the district still face the challenge of open defecation leading to increased diseases associated with poor sanitation. According to the Kabarole district health educator, Catherine Kemigabo, a lot of effort is needed to change people’s attitude. It has been noted that in Kichwamba Sub County alone, out of 31 villages in the entire sub county, 11 villages still practice open defecation.

According to the WASH Baseline sanitation and hygiene survey data report for Kichwamba Sub County, as of December to March 2024, open defecation rates in specific areas are alarming. In parishes of Bwanika, Kihondo and Mabale, open defecation rate is at 42.9 percent, 79.9 percent and 47.4 percent respectively.

Similarly, there are varying levels of improvement in water access across these parishes with Bwanika at 42.9 percent, Kihondo at 79.9 percent and Mabale at 47.4 percent. The data further indicates challenges in hygiene practices, where only 6.4 percent of the entire sub county population wash their hands after visiting the latrine and latrine coverage is at 42.4 percent. In order to address these challenges, the district has been collaborating with different partners like IRC in implementing various interventions which include the construction of new gravity flow water schemes and improved sanitation around homes.

Last month, the district launched the construction of a Uganda Shillings 900 million gravity water scheme in Bwanika parish, Kichwamba Sub County with an aim of benefiting 14 villages. According to the Kabarole district chairperson LCV, Richard Rwabuhinga,the initiative seeks to reduce dependence on water from crater lakes which have been exposed to Bilharzia and Typhoid over the years. Rwabuhinga said the water project will be constructed in three phases with the initial phase costing shs 237 mln. “Our goal is to ensure elimination of drinking or fetching water from unprotected sources by 2030. This water project will also reduce the burden of Bilharzia in Kichwamba sub county” he said.

He added that for many years, residents of Bwanika have been relying on water from crater lakes, exposing them to contamination. He revealed that collaborative efforts with partners including IRC will contribute funds to facilitate timely completion of the water project before 2026. To address WASH challenges at the household level, the district in collaboration with IRC has initiated a home improvement campaign.

Mary Ayoreka from IRC Uganda emphasized the organization’s commitment to supporting the district in implementing and achieving the WASH master plan by 2030. She said the organization’s primary focus in 2024 is on addressing the longstanding sanitation challenges in Kichwamba Sub County.She added that the intensive home improvement campaign initiated in December last year involved door to door visits for health education, raising awareness and promoting practices to enhance sanitation and hygiene.

“We initiated home improvement campaigns in December and as a result, 19 out of the 31 villages in the target area are now officially open defecation free. However, a persistent challenge remains in the area of hand washing practices” she said.

She said to address the issue of hand washing, in collaboration with other partners, they have taken an initiative to provide hand washing facilities which they anticipate that the intervention will lead to an improvement in hand washing practices.

Encroachment, sand mining, stone querying, pollution, and poor agricultural practices have severely reduced it’s flow. Silt and mud that fall into the river as a result of human activities blocks the river from flowing normally. During the dry season, the river waters change color while during the heavy rains, water overflows carrying garbage which includes among others empty plastic bottles that end up piling at different points on the river banks.

When the water levels go down, piles of cracked stones, excavated rocks are the silent proof of stone querying and sand mining activities that take place along the river banks causing silting that has eaten up the river. Unnecessary dumping of plastic materials and garbage has all reduced the volume of the water putting live of many people who depend on it.

According to residents of Karangura sub county where the river has its source, stone querying
has been their source livelihood for many years. However, this is not the only main activity in the area that is threatening the river banks, washing bays have also been constructed near the river banks as opposed to 100meter distance which also costs lives of people depending on the river. Pollution of river Mpanga has also put a heavy cost burden on  National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) as the cost of treating the water has increased. NWSC Fort Portal area depends solely on River Mpanga for water supply to Fort Portal city and Kabarole district.

According to John Paul Onencan, the senior quality control at NWSC Fort Portal area, human
activities have affected the quality of water in river Mpanga which has also increased the cost of
water treatment. He said when water is dirty; they have to use a lot of chemicals in order to purify it.

” About 15 years ago, we would used about Ugx shs 4 million  on chemicals to treat the water per month but due to pollution of the river, we now use between Ugx shs 20million to shs 6o million  per month on chemicals alone” he said.

Interventions

Onencan said as NWSC Fort Portal area, they launched a campaign dubbed ”plant a million
trees”, where they give out tree seedlings to schools and communities around river Mpanga.

Fred Muhanuuzi, the Kabarole district environment officer said they have had some engagements about protecting river Mpanga and it’s tributaries and have a management plan and
also do monitoring and sensitize the masses. The Fort Portal central division mayor Richard Muhumuza said in the current financial year budget, the division has set aside Ugx shs 19millon to recruit river gangs to maintain the river banks and help on enforcement to arrest and report those encroaching and polluting the river.

“Our budget also caters for de-silting of the most affected parts of the river because it’s dying
rapidly and we need to act immediately. We have also passed a bylaw as central division that
whoever will be filmed or caught dumping empty bottles or garbage in the river will be fined Ugx shs
100,000 ” Muhumuza said.

According to the communication and advocacy officer Joint Effort to Save the Environment
(JESE), Christopher Tusiime, river Mpanga being a trans-boundary water resource, it needs to be
protected. Tusiime said JESE has given out indigenous fruit trees like oranges, mangoes, for people to plant in their homes as a source of income so that they can stop encroaching on the river banks.

” We have also supported communities with apiary as a source of livelihood, constructed cattle
troughs for grazing in the buffer zone to keep it protected and do awareness campaigns even
through radio talk shows on the need to protect the river and it’s tributaries,” he said.