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Abstract
This article discusses the historical mechanisms and geographical factors that have formed the current structure of urban water provision in Kampala, the capital of Uganda. The formation of the urban geography of Kampala dates back to the early colonial period. The high- and middle-income earners have settled on the hills while the poorest part of the population lives in the low-lying areas, dispersed as pockets of unplanned and informal settlements. Public services are underdeveloped in these informal pockets. The government has pledged to improve services for the poor and this article analyses whether the efforts made are likely to lead to a lasting change, seen in a longer time perspective. The public water supply in Kampala has ever since its opening in 1930 focused on the middle- and high-income groups while poor people have been marginalised. Water provision to low-income groups has continued to rely on standpipes since the colonial period. There has also been organisational continuity, with a single centralised organisation in charge of urban water supply in all larger towns. Institutional changes, such as the new connection policy from 2004, have perpetuated the emphasis on middle- and high-income groups. This article argues that the traditional focus on private connections is creating a barrier for expansion of services in informal areas. Pre-paid water distribution, which was tried already in the 1920s, has in recent years seen a revival. This technology offers an important avenue for rectifying inequalities of public services that has been reproduced since the colonial period.
Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful for the assistance and interest that the study has received. A number of individuals at the headquarters of the Ugandan public water utility, at Kampala Water (both City and Kisenyi Branch Offices), at the Kampala City Council and in the parishes of Kisenyi I and Kisenyi II have all been generous with their time, assistance and crucial input. This research has been made possible through the support of Sida/SARECs, grant no. SWE- 2005-093.
Notes
1. Government of Uganda, “Urban Water Supply, Issue Paper 3.”
2. Hill, Permanent Way; Miller, The Lunatic Express.
3. Van Zwanenberg and King, An Economic History of Kenya and Uganda; Nawangwe and Nuwagaba, “Land Tenure.”
4. Colonial Office, Report on Sanitary Matters in East Africa Protectorate, Uganda and Zanzibar, Kenya National Archive GP 363.7 SIM.
5. Nilsson, “A Heritage of Unsustainability?”
6. Uganda Protectorate, “Proposed Water Supplies for Kampala and Jinja,” BNA CO 536/143/6
7. Uganda Protectorate, Memorandum from the Director of Public Works, enclosed in despatch dated October 7, 1927, BNA CO 536/145/3.
8. Nilsson, “A Heritage of Unsustainability?”
9. Uganda Protectorate, “Report on Kampala Water Supply,” BNA CO 536/145/3.
10. Data for standpipe revenue from: Uganda Protectorate, Annual Report for 1931, BNA CO 685/15; Uganda Protectorate, Annual Report for 1932, CO 685/16; Uganda Protectorate, Annual Report for 1933, CO 685/17; Uganda Protectorate, Annual Report for 1934, CO 685/19; Uganda Protectorate, Annual Report for 1938, CO 685/23; Uganda Protectorate, Annual Report for 1948, CO 685/31.
11. Nilsson, “A Heritage of Unsustainability?”
12. Uganda Protectorate, Annual Report for 1928, BNA CO 685/12; Uganda Protectorate, Annual Report for 1930, CO 685/14; Uganda Protectorate, Annual Report for 1938, BNA CO 685/23.
13. East Africa Royal Commission, Report.
14. National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), Report on the Evaluation of Area Performance Contracts.
15. NWSC, Annual Report 2004/05.
16. The year 1968 saw an amalgamation of Kampala municipality and the adjacent Kibuga (Mengo) and it is not clear whether the figure refers to Kampala before or after amalgamation.
17. White, Bradley and White, Drawers of Water, 273.
18. Wandera, “Small Scale.”
19. NWSC, Report on the Evaluation of Area Performance Contracts.
20. Appelblad, “The Provision and Politics.”
21. Karlsson, “Support to Uganda's Water and Sanitation Sector.”
22. Ballance and Trémolet, “Private Sector Participation.”
23. NWSC, Report on the Evaluation of Area Performance Contracts.
24. Government of Uganda, “Urban Water and Sanitation Reform Strategy”; Government of Uganda, “Performance Contract.”
25. Government of Uganda, “Urban Water Supply, Issue Paper 3.”
26. NWSC, “Management Service Contract.”
27. World Bank, “Infrastructure Action Plan”; Swyngedouw, “Troubled Waters”; Dellapenna, “The Market Alternative.”
28. Mauve, “The Implementation of Management Contracts.”
29. Mauve, “The Implementation of Management Contracts.”, 13; Mugisha and Berg, “Turning Around,” 15.
30. Kampala Water, “Business Plan”; Kahwa, “Final Report.”
31. Nilsson, “A Heritage of Unsustainability?”
32. Kahwa, “Final Report.”
33. UN-HABITAT, “Situation Analysis.”
34. Nilsson and Kaijser, “Discrimination by Default”; World Bank, “Global Experiences.”
35. Thompson et al., “Waiting at the Tap.”
36. Kahwa, “Final Report.”
37. Mugisha and Berg, “Turning Around,” 19.
38. WHO/UNICEF, “Joint Monitoring Programme.”
39. UN-HABITAT, “Addressing the Urban Water Challenge”; NWSC, “Kampala Water and Sanitation Program.”
40. Government of Uganda, “Performance Report, 2007,” 80.
41. Nilsson and Kaijser, “Discrimination by Default.”
42. Kampala City Council, Development Plan 2002/05.
43. NWSC, Annual Report 2005/06.
44. Kahwa, “Final Report.”
45. Mugisha and Berg, “Turning Around,” 18.
46. Kahwa, “Final Report.”
47. Wandera, “Small Scale.”
48. Interview, Manager at Operations Department NWSC, by Appelblad, 061025.
49. Okaronon and Johnson, “Removing Barriers.”
50. Muhairwe, “Beyond Scarcity,” 3.
51. Government of Uganda, “Performance Report, 2006.”
52. NWSC, Annual Report 2009/10.
53. Okaronon and Johnson, “Removing Barriers,” 2.
54. Interview, Community Mobilisation Officer, Kisenyi Branch, Kampala Water, by Appelblad, 061130.
55. National Water and Sewerage Corporation, “Kampala Water and Sanitation Program.”
56. Kahwa, “Final Report.”
57. Byaruhanga Moses, “Water: Implementing Our Manifesto,” The Daily Monitor, November 6, 2006; Olanyo Joseph, “NWSC to Construct More Water Kiosks,” The Daily Monitor, November 24, 2006.
58. Water Aid Uganda, “News Update.”
59. Kahwa, “Final Report.”
60. Nilsson and Kaijser, “Discrimination by Default.”
61. Empirical studies were carried out in the project parishes of Kisenyi I and Kisenyi II in 2006 and 2008 by Appelblad; interviews were conducted with a number of actors in the area, such as elected community leaders, officials representing the public utility at the project/branch office, the project consultants behind the Kisenyi project, representatives for NGOs working in the settlements and water vendors operating stand posts. Of the vendors, a majority, 21, were female, and the remaining nine were male. This over-representation of females corresponds to the situation in the two case study areas, where the absolute majority of people selling water from stand posts is female.
62. Kampala Water, “Business Plan,” 5.
63. Interview with member of parish development committee, Kisenyi I Parish, 061130, and with member of parish development committee, Kisenyi II Parish, 061201, both by Appelblad.
64. NWSC, “Kampala Water and Sanitation Program.”
65. NWSC, “Kampala Water and Sanitation Program.”.
66. Water Aid Uganda, “News Update.”
67. Interview, Branch Manager Kisenyi Branch, Kampala Water, 080211, by Appelblad.
68. Interview, Project Consult, Windsor Consult, 080220, by Appelblad.
69. Interview, Project Consult, Windsor Consult, 080220, by Appelblad.
70. NWSC, “Kampala Water and Sanitation Program.”
71. Interview, plumber and caretaker, Kisenyi Branch, Kampala Water, 061030, 061204, both by Appelblad.
72. Interview, Branch Manager Kisenyi Branch, Kampala Water, 080211, by Appelblad.
73. Representatives for the utility claim that the cost for purchasing the tokens will be held low, although customers might be charged a subsidised cost of production.
74. Interview, Branch Manager Kisenyi Branch, Kampala Water, 080211, by Appelblad.
75. 10,000 Ugandan Shillings is about 3 Euro.
76. Kahwa, “Final Report.”
77. Government of Uganda, “Performance Report, 2009,” 60.
78. Interview, Branch Manager Kisenyi Branch, Kampala Water, via mail correspondence, 081015, by Appelblad.
79. de Gooijer and Thomasson, “Water and Urban Conflict,” 28.