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.

The Ugandan Minister of Water and Environment, Maria Mutagamba said the National Water and Sewerage Corporation generates only 160,000 cubic litres of water but requires 250,000 cubic litres per day.

Speaking on the sidelines of the sanitation conference, David Isingoma, the corporation’s manager, said 35 per cent of all the water produced goes unaccounted for.

In Dar es Salaam, 60 per cent of water is unaccounted for, with 30 per cent of it leaked, according to a UN-Habitat report.

The conference lauded Kenya for creating the Ministry of Public Sanitation, one of the condition under the eThwikini commitments.

In some countries water and sanitation are integrated and are managed by the Ministry of Water and Irrigation.

Kenya’s National Action Plan for sanitation involves the Ministries of Public Health and Sanitation, Water and Irrigation and that of Education.

John Kariuki, the deputy Chief Public Health Officer said Kenya had achieved 60 per cent of the eThekwini targets despite having a setback in resource allocation which stands at 0.1 per cent of GDP.

Ms Mutagamba, on the other hand said Uganda did not have a specific budget line for sanitation because water and sanitation programmes are integrated.

But Lydia Zigomo, the WaterAid head of East Africa Region believes Uganda’s sanitation investment strategy could help it source for sufficient finances to meet the e Thekwini requirements.

The Uganda National Water and Sewerage Corporation has acquired $52 million to upgrade its water and sewerage facilities.