Efforts to expand access to safe and affordable clean water in Kampala’s informal settlements have received a major boost as the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), working with the German government, begins installing 1,440 prepaid water meters across the capital.
The initiative targets communities where residents have long depended on private vendors who charge between Shs300 and Shs500 per 20-litre jerrycan, far above NWSC’s official commercial tariff of Shs25.
According to NWSC public relations manager Sam Apedel, the new system is intended to eliminate middlemen and ensure residents pay only the regulated price.
‘Many households in the informal settlements have relied on private vendors who charge between Shs300-Shs500 per 20-litre jerrycan, making clean water unaffordable for many, but with the prepaid meter, a customer decides how much water to buy paying the official rate, and right now we are in the process of installing 1,440 in Kampala,’ Apedel said.
He described the prepaid meters as ‘game-changing technology’ that puts customers in full control of how they consume and pay for water. He also praised the German government for its continued financial and technical support.
‘We are very grateful to our German partners for the work that they have helped us to achieve especially in informal settlements in Kampala, the direct contribution to treatment of sewage at Nalukolongo and one of the very good things about our partnership with the German government is that most of the money they provide, the funding they provide, is actually grants,’ he said.
National Housing and Population Census 2024 data shows that 18.9 percent of households still rely on unimproved water sources, while 49.7 percent have unimproved sanitation facilities.
Apedel said the prepaid system reduces household expenditure because customers purchase only what they need. ‘Everybody loads their money in their tokens the same way they use air time. So they go and get every time he needs water, if he wants a 20-litre jerrycan, he’s charged 25 shillings,’ he said.
From an engineering perspective, he added, the meters increase efficiency by serving many more people than traditional systems.
‘The normal meters. serve about 10-12 people but a prepaid meter serves 30, 40 households, over 100 people,’ Apedel observed.
NWSC said similar water interventions supported by Germany are underway in Gulu, West Nile, Arua and other regions.
‘These projects would not have been achieved without German support,’ Apedel said on November 27.
Philippe Roussel, the deputy head of development cooperation at the German Embassy in Uganda, said Germany has provided more than pound 200 million in grants to Uganda’s water and sanitation sector since 2001.
He said this funding has supported major infrastructure expansions including the Ggaba III and Katosi water plants, sewer networks and faecal sludge treatment facilities.
‘For many years now, we are operating with grants. The tremendous work we are doing here has a huge impact for the people of Uganda,’ Roussel said.