Forum calls on EA to speed up water, sanitation projects

John Kakooza, a taxi driver in Kampala is keen on his health.

He has heard of the devastation that cholera and diarrhoea have caused in parts of Uganda and he does not want it to befall him.

To alley his fears of contracting the twin ailments, Mr Kakooza washes his hands often.

Although he has never experienced a water shortage in Kampala, he worries a lot about the occasional sewer bursts in parts of the city.

He has also heard tales from Nairobi — where the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company rations the scarce commodity in its bid to distribute it equitably.

Mr Kakooza represents the fears felt by many East African residents who battle with water and sanitation challenges daily.

At the Golf Course Hotel, metres away from where Mr Kakooza is often stationed, a delegation recently gathered for the East African Sanitation Conference, to discuss the progress made in the sector, two years after the African Sanitation and Hygiene Conference took place in Durban South Africa.

The Durban conference saw 32 African countries sign the eThekwini Declaration at which they pledged to create separate budget lines for sanitation and hygiene in their countries and commit at least 0.5 per cent of GDP.

But East Africa continues to grapple with inadequate water supply and poor sanitation, raising the fear that it will not achieve the Millennium Development Goal on sanitation by 2015.

Elhadj As Sy, the regional director of Eastern and Southern Africa said no country in the region is on track to meet the MDG target on sanitation.

“Currently, one in eight children in East and Southern Africa die before their fifth birthday due to diseases related to poor sanitation and lack of access to safe drinking water,” said Mr As Sy.

Jamillah Mwanajisi, the executive secretary of African Civil Society Network on Water and Sanitation concurred:

“Over time, we have been meeting as experts and governments, making very bold statements but implementation is very slow,” said Ms Mwanajisi.

She added that water scarcity is still a major problem especially in rural areas.

In major towns, acute water shortages, rationing and burst sewers are rampant.