Assessment of tools in use by the National Water and Sewerage Corporation to improve water and sanitation services to the slums of Kampala, Uganda

摘要

This paper presents the multi-faceted approach and tools used in the provision of water and sanitation services to the urban poor in Kampala, Uganda, together with their impacts and the challenges faced during their implementation. The tools include a variety of organisational, financial and technical instruments ranging from corporate strategy, a dedicated pro-poor branch and reduced connection fees to the installation of pre-paid water meters. Among the challenges faced include the diverging interests between the pro-poor branch and the commercial branches, limitations in identifying the poor, the high capital and recurrent cost of pre-paid water meters and the poor management of communal sanitary facilities. Key impacts include a significant rise in the number of pro-poor facilities and a considerable increase in access to water and sanitation services by the poor. Pro-poor initiatives and impacts are evident in water supply more than in sanitation and this calls for an increasing focus on pro-poor sanitation.