Still tirelessly striving to achieve the 32Bn dream, Kampala Water is not leaving any stone unturned to ensure the complete halt of the factors that fuel Non-Revenue Water, both commercial and physical losses that continue to cost the region billions in losses.
Non-Revenue water (NRW) in simple terms is the water produced, supplied but not accounted for and conservatively, in Kampala water region, it stands at 35.6% as of February 2023, the highest in the entire corporation.
The fight against NRW is not a war fought alone but rather requires a united force, and with this mindset, a team from Maganjo aka “Kisoboka team” under the stewardship of the Sub-Branch Manager, Mr. Swithin Busingye, sought the corporation of stakeholders during an engagement.
Under the sub-branch’s campaign dubbed “Carpe Diem-Seize the Day”, the teams laid an innovative move to sensitize masses on the effects of NRW both to the corporation and the community at large since it hinders development as the water utility unnecessarily incurs high operation costs.
According to Mr Busingye, “on a daily basis, we engage between 5-15 customers on issues of NRW, negative impacts of leaks/bursts, illegal water use, vandalism, age meters among others.”
Through the participatory approach, team Maganjo has been able to handle a number of anomalies thus; 76 leaks handled, 47 exposed pipes SWALOP-ed, and many more which were reported by the people in the community.
Additionally, the team increased technical presence in the field through assistance from NRW teams, O&M teams, territorial plumbers, and heads of department at the center all set to improve efficiency of branch operations towards fighting NRW.
Mr Busingye advised his team to walk the talk by timely responding to anomalies, ensure efficiency in meter reading, engage in day and night plus weekend operations specially to accounts in question among others.
Overall, a holistic approach that combines technology, policy, and public engagement is necessary to fight non-revenue water effectively. Maganjo Sub-Branch clearly gets it.
