Africa’s water crisis requires a shift from traditional engineering to a systems-based approach that prioritises customers and financial stability, the head of Uganda’s water utility has told a major summit in Cameroon.
Dr. Silver Mugisha, managing director of the National Water and Sewerage Corporation, said success in the sector depends on aligning technical projects with institutional governance and environmental protection.
Speaking at the 23rd African Water and Sanitation Association congress in Yaounde, Dr Mugisha said utilities must move away from being infrastructure-focused organisations to become customer-centric service providers.
He argued that a systems approach acts as the backbone of high performance because it treats water management as an interconnected web of financial and technical elements rather than isolated projects.
The NWSC has seen significant expansion under this model. Since 2013, the corporation has grown from serving 23 towns to 282, with the population reached increasing from 4.5 million to more than 22.7 million.
Annual turnover for the utility rose from 121 billion Ugandan shillings to 649 billion shillings in the same period. By 2030, the corporation aims to serve 26 million people with an asset base projected to reach 6.2 trillion shillings.
Dr. Mugisha told delegates that these results were the byproduct of specific factors, including incentive-based contracts and financial autonomy.
Internal agreements use clear performance indicators at corporate and individual levels to ensure accountability, he said.
The managing director also highlighted the role of digital transformation, noting that the corporation uses homegrown systems for electronic payments and data reporting.
While engineering builds the physical systems, it is the quality of service delivery that builds public trust, Dr Mugisha said.
He added that achieving universal access to water in Africa remains a decision to invest wisely and put people first, specifically through service equity for informal settlements.
The congress, supported by the World Bank and Cameroon authorities, brought together more than 2,500 global stakeholders to discuss water security and utility performance across the continent.
Dr Mugisha, who has more than 30 years of experience in the industry, is the president emeritus of the African Water and Sanitation Association and a former vice-president of the International Water Association.
