The National Water and Sewerage Corporation’s (NWSC) Managing Director, Dr. Eng Silver Mugisha, has embarked on a nationwide working trip aimed at assessing staff satisfaction and service levels. With his recent re-appointment for the next five years, Dr. Mugisha emphasizes the significance of bolstering staff welfare to consolidate past achievements.
During a meeting with Mbarara area staff on May 31, 2023, Dr. Mugisha underscored the vital role of NWSC staff in the organization’s success. He highlighted key parameters, including customer satisfaction, financial stability, and staff welfare perspectives, that contribute to the corporation’s ability to fulfill its objectives. Recognizing the challenges posed by the global economic situation, Dr. Mugisha expressed his commitment to ensuring timely payment of salaries and protecting staff welfare systems from erosion.
According to Dr. Mugisha, successful organizations, particularly NWSC, must prioritize Customer Perspective, Financial Perspective, Technical Perspective thus emphasizing internal processes, operations and maintenance, infrastructure maintenance, and robust systems for the present and future, and Staff Welfare thus ensuring competitive salaries, gratuity, capacity building, and incentives to create a highly motivated workforce aligned with the Corporation’s goals.
Dr. Mugisha addressed rumors circulating within NWSC, categorizing them as malicious propaganda aimed at discrediting the management. He clarified that the corporation had faced challenges due to limited resources and delayed government payments. However, NWSC’s leadership has devised strategies to secure market financing with the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development as a guarantor. Dr. Mugisha reassured the staff that efforts are being made to expedite gratuity payments, acknowledging the delay and expressing his desire to overcome the situation together during these difficult times.
To restore staff purchasing power, Dr. Mugisha announced that NWSC staff salaries will be indexed starting from July 1, 2023. Under the new arrangement, junior staff members, the primary beneficiaries, can expect a 15-20% increment. Moreover, the corporation has implemented a performance monitoring and evaluation system aligned with its corporate plan. The individual performance system aims to foster fairness in promotions, rewards, and incentives while promoting a culture of hard work and enhanced service delivery.
Encouraging Effective Leadership and Accountability: Dr. Mugisha emphasized the importance of effective leadership within NWSC. He encouraged leaders to evaluate past actions, align current efforts with the corporation’s strategic priorities, and adopt a strong performance mindset. Furthermore, he stressed the need for leaders to be solution providers rather than solely lamenting about problems. Dr. Mugisha emphasized teamwork, the identification and development of successful team members, cost mindfulness, and avoiding a business-as-usual approach.
Discussing changes to the medical scheme, Dr. Mugisha revealed instances of gross abuse within the NWSC medical scheme. He urged support in fighting this abuse to allocate funds toward salaries, gratuity, and other obligations. The MD also emphasized the importance of water quality staff being present at their stations and adjusting doses accordingly. To ensure quality assurance, a Special Investigations unit has been established, enabling on-the-spot audits at service.
