AccountabilityWater & Sanitation
A borehole is commissioned once and maintained continuously, which is why the commissioning photograph is a poor guide to whether a village has water three years later.
The two-thousand-shilling problem
Most breakdowns are small: a worn seal, a cracked rising main, a missing bolt. They become permanent when there is no collection arrangement to pay for the part and no trained mechanic within reach.
The pump did not die. It waited eight months for a spare that costs less than a bag of cement.
Districts with a paid hand-pump mechanic on call report far higher functionality than those relying on voluntary committees alone.
Sources & further reading
- Ministry of Water and Environment - Government of Uganda
- Drinking water fact sheet - World Health Organization
- UNICEF Uganda - UNICEF
Prossy Nabukenya
Urban Health Correspondent, Kampala
Prossy Nabukenya reports on water, sanitation and public health in Kampala's densest parishes, with a focus on how utility policy is experienced at household level.
- Urban water and sanitation
- Waterborne disease
- Municipal services
