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Published on: 14/05/2014

Water users in rural areas in Uganda continue to grapple with age-old challenges relating to water services. In a study assessing the performance of the Service Delivery Model for Point Sources in Uganda , IRC/Triple-S found that 95% of the sources rated poorly on quality, quantity and reliability of the water service delivered.Level of water service accessed by households. Dark red = very low & light red = low.

The study was conducted in Alebtong, Lira, Kitgum, and Nwoya districts in Lango region (TSU 2 in Northern Uganda) as well as Kabarole, Kamwenge, Kasese and Kyenjonjo districts in Rwenzori region (TSU 6, in Western Uganda). The study scrutinized the traditional Water Source Committee Service Delivery Model, and also considered two innovations within the management system – the involvement of Hand Pump Mechanics Associations (HPMAs) in Kasese District and the integration of community-led savings and credit initiatives in financing operation and maintenance in Kamwenge district.

Commenting on the findings of the assessment study, lead researcher Valérie Bey made the following observations:

  • Depending on the district, between 88% and 97% of the households access sub-standard water services, i.e. a service that does not meet the basic norm for at least one of the four parameters of quality, quantity, accessibility and reliability.
  • People are not willing to pay for water even though they can afford it. In TSU 6 (Western Uganda) for example it was found that only 5% of the households pay their monthly user fees, while only 42% in TSU2 (Northern Uganda) said they “contribute something”. Meanwhile a further analysis revealed for instance that people spend quite a lot of money on air time for their mobile phones compared to what they spend on water per month. Some households spend 100 times more money on mobile phones than on drinking water. This shows that they could actually afford to pay for water if they wanted to and were obliged to.
  • People use multiple sources of water, and collect some of their water from unsafe sources, which are often closer and where no costs are incurred.
  • Water user committees are not performing their duties as expected.
  • Service authorities (districts and sub-counties) are not giving enough support to service providers. The briefing note “Performance of rural water service providers and service authorities in 8 districts of Uganda”presents a detailed analysis on these aspects.
  • In the districts with innovations – Hand Pump Mechanics Association (HPMA) and the YehuraYehoza (YY) strategy – the level of service was better and more reliable. Water users in those districts expressed greater satisfaction. The HPMA brings together all hand pump mechanics in a district and streamlines their activities, enabling them to enjoy the benefits of working in a group rather than as individuals. The YY strategy enables water users to access loans from a savings and credit scheme which is established around a water source. It mobilises water users to consistently pay their monthly O&M fees in order to sustain the credit scheme.

One of they key areas studied during the assessment was the performance of service providers and service authorities in the eight districts. This briefing note presents key findings about the performance of service providers and service authorities.

 

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