Residents demand clean water as wells break down in Kabarole

Pathetic. A man fetches water from a well at Nyabubale Village in Kabarole District recently. Access to clean water is still a challenge in the district. FILE PHOTO 

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THURSDAY OCTOBER 26 2017

In Summary

·         Outcry. They say government built shallow wells in Kagusu and Mugusu A villages that broke down three years later..

By FELIX BASIIME & ALEX ASHABA

KABAROLE. Ms Annette Nsugwa, 51, is a resident of Kagusu Village in Karambi Sub-county, Kabarole District. 

Like many area residents, Ms Nsugwa uses dirty water in her home that she fetches over a kilometre away since a water source set up by the government three years ago broke down.

She says two shallow wells were built in 2010 but one has been non-functional in the last three years. This has forced many residents to draw water for domestic use from wetlands and sand mines.

“I don’t think government is doing a good thing towards extending safe water to Ugandans if no plans are put in place to maintain them. We have been using dirty water for four years,” Ms Nsugwa says.

Mr Lawrence Ahebwa, 63, another resident, says: “We don’t know why water sources built by our government break down faster. Can I say they use poor materials or the contractors hand over shoddy work? Our government should wake up.”

Mr Rashid Kushemererwa, a resident of Mugusu A Village in Busoro Sub-county, says the only well that was built by government in 2010 broke down in 2013.

“The first time when our shallow broke down, we were told that the pipes that were used got damaged but now we don’t know what happened. Our leaders only show up during political campaigns,” Mr Kushemererwa says.

Reports of non-functional water sources around the district are several.
The most affected areas are Mugusu A and Kanyamakere both in Busoro Sub-county and Kagusu Village, Mukonmura and Busokwa in Karambi Sub-county.

Residents say government built shallow wells in Kagusu and Mugusu A villages in 2010 but they have since broken down. This has forced many residents to walk long distances in search of clean water in the district.

Mr Charles Bagada, a resident, says lack of safe water in Kabarole District has led to waterborne disease such as typhoid in the area.

Mr Yusuf Ayesige, a resident of Kanyamakerere Village in Busoro Sub-county, says a shallow well was built by government in 2015 but broke down after one year.

“The shallow well that was built to supply clean water stopped. We at times spend six hours in queues at a shallow well because they are not functioning properly,” Mr Ayesige says.

According to Mr Sam Cheptoris, minister of Water and Environment, “As of June, average access to safe water in rural areas was estimated at 70 per cent (which is a 3 per cent increase from 67 per cent as of June 2016).”

Corruption
Despite Uganda being signatory to Sustainable Development Goals where Goal number six is to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, several people in the countryside are thirsty and sick due to lack of safe water for domestic use.

In 2015, Kabarole District paid Shs30 million for extension of gravity water to Mukonomura in Karambi Sub-county but this has not yet been achieved, according to the area councillor, Mr Joseph Mashuhuku.

On June 20, 2016, the then chief administrative officer of Kabarole District, Mr Ocakara Nicholas, said the matter was reported to police.

According to Mr Ocakara, a council meeting was convened later and recommended the refund of the money by the district water officer and the district engineer.
He said the district water officer apologised before the council.

“It is evident that the certificate raised by the district water officer and payment requests by the contractor were not reflecting the true picture on the ground and therefore are deceitful,” he said.

The district management meetings later asked the water officer with the contractor to re-do the work and extend the gravity flow scheme from Buhara to Mukonomura but this has never been done to date.

When contacted, the deputy CAO, Mr Alfred Malinga, says, “The fact is that people are complaining over lack of water. Kabarole was supposed to extend water from Buhara to Mukonomura and from Mugusu to Busokwa in the last three years. This project had many challenges and police are still investigating.”

When contacted, the criminal investigations officer, Ms Godliver Twinomugisha, said, “The complainant petitioned the Director of CID before I came here, so I don’t have the file.”

However, a survey by the Rwenzori Anti-Corruption Coalition (RAC) early this year found that Kabarole District tops Rwenzori sub-region in corruption cases, with misappropriation of public funds being frequent.

Ms Agella Byangwa, the RAC executive director, says: “Residents in these areas, especially women in Mukonomura have complained to several times. Women walk as far as 8kms in search of water.”

Kabarole District, despite being endowed with several rivers and crater lakes, is one of the districts in the country that lack clean water.

 Kabarole at a glance

According to the National Population and Housing Census 2014, only 24, 504 households (22. 9 percent) in Kabarole district have access to piped water, while 25,314 households (23.6 percent) use bore holes.

But a recent Uganda Water Supply Atlas, on Kabarole, uploaded on October 22, shows the access rates vary from 8 percent in Kijura town council to 95 percent in Bukuuku Sub County.

Kabarole district has 1,121 domestic water points which serve a total of 247, 841 people to 171, 676 people in rural areas.

About 212 water points have been nonfunctional for over 5 years and are considered abandoned. Kabarole has 2 piped water schemes (NWSC and Gravity flow).

This atlas report gives some reasons for non-functionality of water sources in the district that include; low yield at 19 percent, technical breakdown at 67 percent, water quality 4 percent, vandalism 4 percent among others.

Tooro elders reject removal of age limit

Critics of the age limit amendment say the scheme is aimed at benefiting only President Museveni who has been in power for 31 years.  

TUESDAY OCTOBER 17 2017

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Tooro-elders-age-limit-Parliament-Museveni/688334-4142804-qjny95z/index.html

By ALEX ASHABA & FELIX BASIIME

Kabarole- Tooro elders under their umbrella body Isaazi ly’Abaantu Bakuru Ba Tooro have expressed their objection to the Bill, seeking to amend Article 102 (b) of the Constitution to remove the presidential age limit and asked the movers to drop it.

In an October 10 statement, the elders say there are more burning issues in the country such as poverty, diseases and famine than the “luxurious” amendments on the age limit and land law which are being fronted by “selfish individuals”.

They say the amendment of the Article is likely to cause chaos in the country and warned that when violence erupts, it does not discriminate between the culpable and the innocent as they will be affected alike.

A Bill is already in Parliament seeking to remove Article 102(b) which bars a person aged below 35 or above 75 from standing for president.
Mr Museveni, now 73, will not be eligible to stand for president again in 2021 as he will be 77.

The Bill has been referred to the Parliamentary and Legal Affairs committee for scrutiny and MPs have been released to do public consultations about the proposed Constitution amendment.

The elders also noted more pressing issues for amendment and cited the provision on election of political leaders under the affirmative action.

They advised Cabinet and Parliament to listen to the voices of religious leaders, opinion leaders and other sections of the population who have rejected the amendment of the Constitution.

“We note with concern that there are some provisions in the Constitution which were to be reviewed within a specified time but have been delayed. The voices of those against amendment should also be tolerated,” the elders stated.

Some religious leaders have publicly expressed objections to the Constitution amendment to remove the age limit. 

The elders also urged elected leaders from Tooro to represent the views of the electorate by focusing on improvement of healthcare, education services and spearhead development.

The elders join other people in the region who are against amending Article 102(b), including Fort Portal Municipality MP Alex Ruhunda, Sylvia Rwabwogo (Kabarole District Woman MP) and Bishop Reuben Kisembo of Rwenzori Diocese.

editorial@ug.nationmedia.com

Janet Museveni: My daughters married when virgins

First Lady Janet Museveni (middle in a hat) takes a group photo with adolescent girls and regional leaders in Kyenjojo. Photo by Stephen Wandera. 

SUNDAY OCTOBER 15 2017

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Museveni-s-daughters-avoided-sex-before-marriage--says-wife/688334-4140742-4gf9v3/index.html

By Felix Basiime

KYENJOJO.

First Lady Janet Museveni has said that she kept her daughters virgins until marriage by using traditional African way of bringing up a girl child. 

“I made all my daughters to sign 'true love waits' cards and they would abstain from sex until the wedding night (when) they (would) produce these cards to their spouses," said Ms Museveni adding that "this can be achieved even today”.

Ms Museveni was speaking in Kyenjojo District during the commemoration of the Day for the Girl Child on Thursday. 

She added: “That is how we, in the past, were brought up by our parents, there was no such immorality like now”.

The day was preceded by a dialogue between stakeholders who committed themselves to protect the rights of the adolescent girls.

Ms Museveni’s daughters include Ms Diana Museveni (married to Mr Geoffrey Kamuntu), Ms Natasha Museveni (married to Mr Edwin Karugire) and Ms Patience Museveni (married to Mr Odrek Rwabwogo).

“Whether a man is big or small, say no and run away, a man can use sweet language to persuade you, don’t allow any man to use you when you are a young girl, not even an adolescent boy, no man should engage you in sexual intercourse until you are married, true love waits,” Ms Museveni reiterated to the adolescent girls.

She said that most young girls in Uganda die while giving birth because their bodies are not yet ready to deliver babies.

She rebuked parents who engage with the rape or defilement suspects to settle cases by receiving money.

“Please, parents, stop asking for money to settle rape or defilement cases. The parent is the biggest stakeholder in the development of the girl child,” she said.

She said in the community where she grew up, the community would collectively help in bringing up the child morally which is not the case today. 

“This value has been eroded in our society today but this must be revived,” she said.

She added that the free supply of contraceptives in the country has contributed to the erosion of morals to some extent. 

“The use of contraceptives is not our culture, we no longer have pride to say no, people are given contraceptives to use them and do what they want, have sex, take pills, conceive and abort, this is not our culture in Africa,” she said, adding, “Just say, thank you (to the service providers) our culture does not believe in this, we should protect the values of our society”. 

Ms Museveni who is also the minister for education later launched the national gender in education sector policy that among others, spells how the rights of adolescents should be protected.

It is expected to provide skills and knowledge equally to both girls and boys.

Bunyangabu struggles to deliver services as government grants delay

Demand. Kibiito Health Centre III in the Bunyangabu District. Authorities want the government to elevate the centre to a hospital status to serve the people better. PHOTO BY FELIX BASIIME.  

THURSDAY AUGUST 24 2017

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Bunyangabu-struggles-to-deliver-services-as-govt-grants-delay--/688334-4068568-mv7jl0z/index.html

In Summary

• Stranded. The district leadership says ever since its inception on July 1, they have never received any money from the central government to implement the plans and that this has affected its operations and progress.

By ALEX ASHABA & FELIX BASIIME

BUNYANGABU: The newly created Bunyangabu District is struggling to deliver services as government has not deposited any money on its accounts to run its operations since its inception on July 1. 

Bunyangabu District was carved out of Kabarole District after it was approved by Parliament in 2015 to start operating in the Financial Year 2017/2018.

It is now almost two months since the district became operational but the struggle to implement district planned activities has remained a challenge due to lack of resources.

During the 2017/18 budget review for Kabarole District in May, the then secretary for finance, planning and administration, Mr Peter Musiguzi, presented a budget of Shs13b for Bunyangabu District with Shs361m from local revenue and the rest was to be provided for by the central government.

But due to lack of funds, the new district is currently sharing the administration block with Kibito Town Council, which members of staff say is congested and hence makes their work difficult.

The interim chairman for Bunyangabu District, Mr Musiguzi, says from day one, the heads of departments have been using their own personal resources to run the activities of the district.

Musiguzi revealed that Kabarole District has also been helping them with both stationery and fuel to use as they wait for operational funds from government.

“As I talk now, the district has not received any money from government to run district activities and we have been helped by Kabarole District to carry out some activities,” Musiguzi said.

Equally, the acting vice chairperson, Mr Remegiaus Turyahebwa, revealed that all civil servants in the district have not received their salaries.

Mr Turyahebwa explains that they have made work plans in all seven sub-counties and five town councils but they are only waiting for funds from government to start working on roads and bridges in villages and other priority areas.

“We are going to receive the road unit from government but we don’t have drivers and as a new district, we have few workers who are in acting positions which is hindering service delivery to the community,” Turyahebwa says.

He says the interim council has budgeted Shs700m to construct district administration block, Shs130m for vehicles and also to renovate Kibito Town Council structure where they are operating from.

Ms Annent Kasamba, the woman councillor representing Kabonero and Kibito town councils, says since July 1, all district councillors have not received their allowances and salaries but use their own money to monitor government programmes.

“When we sit in council, we are supposed to receive our allowances that very day but unfortunately, it is now the second time we have sat without pay and even our July dues of Shs175,000 are not yet paid,” Kasamba says.

The acting chief administrative officer, Mr Peter Ruhweeza Nsungwa, attributes the delay of salaries of civil servants and councillors to the delay in having them onto the Finance ministry accounts; a move he said takes long.

“I cannot tell you when councillors, civil servants and other grants from central government will be on our account and we start working for people. There is no body who is striking over that,” Mr Ruhweeza said.

Issues in the new districts
Under the Constitution, new districts can be created on the basis of the necessity for effective administration and the need to bring services closer to people but with time this has almost lost meaning.

Other considerations that are usually taken into account in the creation of new districts include the means of communication, geographical features, and the density of the population, economic viability, and the wishes of the people concerned.

However, some observers say the NRM government is in the habit of creating districts both as a reward for its supporters and as a condition for support in areas where it has historically not enjoyed popular support.

The observers further explain that this politicisation of the decentralisation process has greatly undermined performance.

Uganda has moved from 38 districts in 1986 when NRM government captured power, to more than 112 districts now.

Scare as elephants, locals compete for water source

Locals compete with elephants for water source 

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 21 2017

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Scare-as-elephants--locals-compete-for-water-source/688334-4105012-evo3h9z/index.html

In Summary

• Threat. The residents say they fetch water from contaminated wells and in wetlands, hence being exposed to water-borne diseases which are costly to cure.

By FELIX BASIIME & ALEX ASHABA

KABAROLE. For the past 30 years, 65-year-old Fred Ndabahwenje has lived at Nyabubale Village in Kiko Town Council, Kabarole District. But he treks more than 3kms in search of safe water. 

Even when the World Health Organisation stresses the right to safe water for both domestic use and recreational purposes, this is not the case in Kabarole District.

Mr Ndabahwenje says the only available wells were dug up by the residents from water stressed villages and that the water is shared with elephants that stray from the nearby Kibale National Park.

“For many years, government has been promising to avail us with water. They have been telling us that they will extend gravity flow water or piped water from National Water and Sewerage Cooperation but in vain,” he notes.

He says they fetch dirty water from wells and in wetlands, exposing residents to water-borne diseases which he says are costly to cure, especially in private hospitals.

However, Mr Andrew Kusemererwa, from Kyalegi Village in the same district, says residents are helped by Kiko Tea Estate that at times avails safe water but not daily.

Mr Kusemererwa says the three neighbouring villages and Kiko trading centre all use one shallow well that is also overwhelmed by the community as it sometimes dries up.

“We use boda bodas to move 2kms to get clean water. Each jerrycan costs Shs1,000 during dry season,” he says, adding: “Since I was born, I have seen my parents getting water from the same well. We are tired of dirty water.”

Ms Grace Banura from Kiko Village, says more than 500 people from her village share one shallow well that was built in 1996 by the community.
She says the well is seasonal and water is rationed by the area water committee.

“They ration the water supply because the committee doesn’t want to run out of water. When they open it in the evening, each person is allowed to fetch only one jerrycan,” Banura says.

In Harugongo Sub-county, the story is not so different.

The LC I chairman of Mpinga Village, Mr Moses Irumba, says many people trek long distances to fetch water from swamps which in most cases contract diseases.

Mr Irumba says the only three shallow wells in the five neighbouring villages were set up in 2002 by Hewasa, a non-governmental organisation in Fort Portal Diocese, to enable people get clean water.

“The five villages of Kyabuhara, Mudama, Kyehembe, Mpinga and Mirongo use three shallow wells which are overwhelmed and at times dry up hence affecting everyone,” Irumba says.

He says the shallow wells were constructed to serve a small population that has since increased without matching water resources in the area.

Ms Florence Apecho, the head teacher at Mpinga Primary School in Harugongo Sub-county, says though the school has a tank for harvesting rain water, it is also shared by all members of the community hence dries up quickly.

“When our tank dries up, we face a big challenge. We are forced to send pupils to fetch water far away from the school as early as 7am. This puts the lives of these pupils at risk,” Ms Apecho says.

Kahugi Parish has only two shallow wells that serve a population of more than 500 people, according to Mr Aston Mabiho who is a resident in the area. He says the area has schools and a health centre that require constant water supply.

“The water we use in our homes is not good. People move between two and three kilometres to access clean water,” Mr Mabiho says.

Despite Uganda being signatory to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) where number six is to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, several villages in Uganda are still behind on this.

The villages in Kiko town council are: Ruteete, Mugusu, Harugongo, Busoro, Hakibale, Kasenda and Kichwamba that do not have improved water source.

Despite Kabarole and Bunyangabu districts being endowed with several rivers and about 56 crater lakes, their people are part of the 35 per cent of the whole population in Uganda living without clean water.
The current national coverage is 65 per cent.

Research
According to a report of the UN Secretary-General, “Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals”, access to safe water and sanitation and sound management of freshwater ecosystems are essential to human health, environmental sustainability and economic prosperity.

In 2015, 6.6 billion people (more than 90 per cent of the world’s population) used improved drinking water sources. In this case, people without access live predominantly in rural areas.

According to the National Service Delivery Survey 2015 report, inadequate safe water sources (47 per cent) was the major constraint faced by households in accessing safe water, followed by long distance (34 per cent).

The Water and Environment Sector Performance Report (2015) indicates that the sector target for access to improved water is to have 77 per cent of people in rural areas within 1km and 100 per cent of people in urban areas within 0.2km of improved water source but this hasn’t been achieved.

Across the survey periods, the majority of households moved a distance of up to half a kilometer with percentages ranging from 63 per cent to 69 per cent in the wet season compared to 57 per cent to 60 per cent in dry season.

The proportion of households who travel up to half a kilometre to a safe water source constituted the majority in the two survey periods for both rural and urban areas.

A higher proportion of the households in the urban (76 per cent) compared to rural areas (55 per cent) travelled a distance of up to 0.5km distance to a safe water source.

The same survey indicates that inadequate safe water sources were the major constraint faced by households followed by long distance.

The two constraints were more pronounced in rural compared to urban areas.
According to a July report on water and sanitation status and plans for Kabarole District Local Government authored Mr Pius Mugabi Katuramu, the senior water officer, water coverage in the district is at 72 per cent.

But an independent survey carried out in June by Mr Martin Watsisi of International Water and Sanitation Centre on Kabarole District found that 45.2 per cent of the water sources were constructed over 15 years ago, 38 per cent are between six and 15 years old and only 16 per cent were constructed in last five years. The rest were not known.