NSWC losing Shs 3 billion monthly in revenue

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | National Water and Sewage Corporation is losing at least shillings 3 billion every month in collected revenue since government enforced measures to forestall the spread of COVID-19.

According to the organization’s boss, normally the company collects 38 billion every month from customers nationwide in revenue. However today, they are only collecting 35 billion per month.

Dr Silver Mugisha, the managing director of the corporation says the losses have been realized in all parts of the country. He attributes the fall in collections to effects of the pandemic that hampered movements during the lockdown.

“The reason for this is because out vigilance in the field is not as high as it used to be due to COVID restrictions like the need of social distancing. But we are trying to pick this up,” he said.

In addition to this, Mugisha says some ‘clever’ Ugandans are using the pandemic as a means to carry out illegal connections.

He also attributes the reduction in revenue collection to the closure of big businesses that consume a lot of water such as factories that are closing.

Due to the fall in collections, the water body has had to cut spending. According to Mugisha, they have had to cut their training budget as well as remove allowances for all staff.

Mugisha says despite the big loss, the company’s mandate to manage water consumption in the country is not at stake. He says with the lifting of the lockdown, the corporation’s revenue will stabilize.

Despite the fall in revenue, handwashing is believed to have increased in the country due to COVID-19 health preventive measures that call for frequent handwashing.

A study carried out by Twaweza Sauti za Wananichi this year showed that handwashing using water or a alcohol based sanitizer had increased to as much as 87 percent compared to national average of 36 percent last year.

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