Publication: Uganda : Turn-around of the National Water and Sewerage Corporation
Loading...
Date
2003-07
ISSN
Published
2003-07
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
National Water & Sewerage Company (NWSC), the Ugandan utility responsible for urban water delivery, was operating at a loss of Sh 348MM a month with performance indicators below African utility standards. In 1999, the Bank recommended that NWSC close down for good, after five years of intensive investments aimed at turning- around the utility. However, just three years later, the NWSC is hailed as a model by other African nations, corporations, and municipalities. What made the difference? Dr. William Muhairwe, the newly hired Managing Director declared a 100-day program focusing on targeted outputs. A sharp focus on results and "stretch" goals brought out the hidden reserve of capacity that already existed in the utility.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Matta, Nadim. 2003. Uganda : Turn-around of the National Water and Sewerage Corporation. Africa Region Findings & Good Practice Infobriefs; No. 228. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/9729 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication When Passionate Leadership Stimulates Enduring Change : A Transformational Capacity Development Anecdote from Uganda(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2005-10)This paper from the water sector in Uganda turns on its head conventional wisdom about capacity growth and how long it takes to effect enduring change. This example of a transformational process that was driven by passionate leadership and, contrary to popular development wisdom, was front-ended by short-term results producing initiatives that led to longer-term impact. The experience of the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) in Uganda reflects a tripartite relationship among results achievement, capacity development, and performance improvement. Within a couple of years, NWSC went from being a fiscally and operationally dysfunctional utility to a financially sustainable and efficient service provider. The story of this transformation and conclusions on how charismatic leaders can cause profound changes within a short time frame are outlined in this paper.Publication Water Supply and Sanitation in Kenya : Turning Finance into Services for 2015 and Beyond(World Bank, Nairobi, 2011)The architecture of the water supply and sanitation subsectors in Kenya has undergone significant change in the last decade, in response to a slow deterioration of urban services through the 1980s and '90s. Initiated with a new water act in 2002, significant policy revision and restructuring of institutional roles is still ongoing and will need to be aligned with the new Constitution of Kenya 2010. Most of the reform emphasis has been in the water supply subsectors, especially urban, but sanitation is now regaining emphasis with a new policy published in 2007 and a strategy and investment plan in development. These reforms of the enabling environment are beginning to yield impacts in the coverage and quality of services. Kenya's challenge is to finalize the reform of enabling aspects such as strategies and investment plans, further clarifying roles and responsibilities, at the same time as significantly scaling up resources and systems for implementing the development of new services on the ground. Finally, in terms of checks and balances, while the monitoring and evaluation architecture is elaborate, greater use of the findings captured by information systems and reports is needed to drive performance improvements. The African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) Second Country Status Overview (CSO2) has been produced in collaboration with the Government of Kenya and other stakeholders.Publication Water Supply and Sanitation in Uganda : Turning Finance into Services for 2015 and Beyond(Nairobi, 2011)The African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW) commissioned the production of a second round of Country Status Overviews (CSOs) to better understands what underpins progress in water supply and sanitation (WSS) and what its member governments can do to accelerate that progress across countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). AMCOW delegated this task to the World Bank's Water and Sanitation Program and the African Development Bank who are implementing it in close partnership with UNICEF and WHO in over 30 countries across SSA. This CSO2 report has been produced in collaboration with the Government of Uganda and other stakeholders during 2009-10. The analysis aims to help countries assess their own service delivery pathways for turning finance into water supply and sanitation services in each of four subsectors: rural and urban water supply, and rural and urban sanitation and hygiene. The CSO2 analysis has three main components: a review of past coverage; a costing model to assess the adequacy of future investments; and a scorecard which allows diagnosis of particular bottlenecks along the service delivery pathway. The CSO2's contribution is to answer not only whether past trends and future finance are sufficient to meet sector targets, but what specific issues need to be addressed to ensure finance is effectively turned into accelerated coverage in water supply and sanitation. In this spirit, specific priority actions have been identified through consultation. A synthesis report, available separately, presents best practice and shared learning to help realize these priority actions.Publication Water Supply and Sanitation in Ghana : Turning Finance into Services for 2015 and Beyond(Nairobi, 2011)The African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW) commissioned the production of a second round of Country Status Overviews (CSOs) to better understands what underpins progress in water supply and sanitation (WSS) and what its member governments can do to accelerate that progress across countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). AMCOW delegated this task to the World Bank's Water and Sanitation Program and the African Development Bank who are implementing it in close partnership with United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organization (WHO) in over 30 countries across SSA. This second CSO report has been produced in collaboration with the Government of Ghana and other stakeholders during 2009-10. The analysis aims to help countries assess their own service delivery pathways for turning finance into water supply and sanitation services in each of four subsectors: rural and urban water supply, and rural and urban sanitation and hygiene. The second CSO analysis has three main components: a review of past coverage; a costing model to assess the adequacy of future investments; and a scorecard which allows diagnosis of particular bottlenecks along the service delivery pathway. The second CSO's contribution is to answer not only whether past trends and future finance are sufficient to meet sector targets, but what specific issues need to be addressed to ensure finance is effectively turned into accelerated coverage in water supply and sanitation. In this spirit, specific priority actions have been identified through consultation. A synthesis report, available separately, presents best practice and shared learning to help realize these priority actions.Publication Water Supply and Sanitation in The Gambia : Turning Finance into Services for 2015 and Beyond(Nairobi, 2011)The African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW) commissioned the production of a second round of Country Status Overviews (CSOs2) to better understands what underpins progress in water supply and sanitation and what its member governments can do to accelerate that progress across countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). AMCOW delegated this task to the World Bank's water and sanitation program and the African Development Bank who are implementing it in close partnership with United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organization (WHO) in over 30 countries across SSA. This CSO2 report has been produced in collaboration with the Government of the Gambia and other stakeholders during 2009-10. The analysis aims to help countries assess their own service delivery pathways for turning finance into water supply and sanitation services in each of four subsectors: rural and urban water supply, and rural and urban sanitation, and hygiene. The CSO2 analysis has three main components: a review of past coverage; a costing model to assess the adequacy of future investments; and a scorecard which allows diagnosis of particular bottlenecks along the service delivery pathway. The CSO2's contribution is to answer not only whether past trends and future finance are sufficient to meet sector targets, but what specific issues need to be addressed to ensure finance is effectively turned into accelerated coverage in water supply and sanitation. In this spirit, specific priority actions have been identified through consultation. A synthesis report, available separately, presents best practice and shared learning to help realize these priority actions.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.Publication Crime and Violence in Central America : A Development Challenge - Main Report(World Bank, 2011-01-01)Crime and violence are now a key development issue for Central American countries. In three nations El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras crime rates are among the top five in Latin America. This report argues that successful strategies require actions along multiple fronts, combining prevention and criminal justice reform, together with regional approaches in the areas of drug trafficking and firearms. It also argues that interventions should be evidence based, starting with a clear understanding of the risk factors involved and ending with a careful evaluation of how any planned action might affect future options. In addition, the design of national crime reduction plans and the establishment of national cross-sectoral crime commissions are important steps to coordinate the actions of different government branches, ease cross-sectoral collaboration and prioritize resource allocation. Of equal importance is the fact that national plans offer a vehicle for the involvement of civil society organizations, in which much of the expertise in violence prevention and rehabilitation resides. Prevention efforts need to be complemented by effective law enforcement. The required reforms are no longer primarily legislative in nature because all six countries have advanced toward more transparent adversarial criminal procedures. The second-generation reforms should instead help deliver on the promises of previous reforms by: (i) strengthening key institutions and improving the quality and timeliness of the services they provide to citizens; (ii) improving efficiency and effectiveness while respecting due process and human rights; (iii) ensuring accountability and addressing corruption; (iv) increasing inter-agency collaboration; and (v) improving access to justice, especially for poor and disenfranchised groups. Specific interventions reviewed in the report include: information systems and performance indicators as a prerequisite to improve inter-institutional coordination and information sharing mechanisms; an internal overhaul of court administration and case management to create rapid reaction, one-stop shops; the strengthening of entities that provide legal counseling to the poor and to women; and the promotion of alternative dispute-resolution mechanisms and the implementation of community policing programs.Publication The Mexican Social Protection System in Health(World Bank, Washington DC, 2013-01)With a population of 113 million and a per-capita Gross Domestic Product, or GDP of US$10,064 (current U.S. dollars), Mexico is one of the largest and highest-income countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The country has benefited from sustained economic growth during the last decade, which was temporarily interrupted by the financial and economic crisis. Real GDP is projected to grow 3.8 percent and 3.6 percent in 2012 and 2013, respectively (International Monetary Fund, or IMF 2012). Despite this growth, poverty in the country remains high; with half of the population living below the national poverty line. The country is also highly heterogeneous, with large socioeconomic differences across states and across urban and rural areas. In 2010, while the extreme poverty ratio in the Federal District and the states of Colima and Nuevo Leon was below 3 percent, in Chiapas, Guerrero, and Oaxaca it was 25 percent or higher. These large regional differences are also found in other indicators of well-being, such as years of schooling, housing conditions, and access to social services. This case study assesses key features and achievements of the Social Protection System in Health (Sistema de Proteccion Social en Salud) in Mexico, and particularly of its main pillar, Popular Health Insurance (Seguro Popular, PHI). It analyzes the contribution of this policy to the establishment and implementation of universal health coverage in Mexico. In 2003, with the reform of the General Health Law, the PHI was institutionalized as a subsidized health insurance scheme open to the population not covered by the social security schemes. Today, the PHI covers all of its intended affiliates, about 52 million peoplePublication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication Guide to the Debt Management Performance Assessment Tool(Washington, DC, 2008-02-05)The purpose of this document is to provide guidance and supplemental information to assist with country assessments of debt management performance, using the Debt Management Performance Assessment (DeMPA) tool. The DeMPA is a methodology used for assessing public debt management performance through a comprehensive set of 15 performance indicators spanning the full range of government Debt Management (DeM) functions. It is based on the principles set out in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank guidelines for public debt management, initially published in 2001 and updated in 2003. It is modeled after the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) framework for performance measurement of public financial management. The DeMPA has been designed to be a user-friendly tool to undertake an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses in government DeM practices. This guide provides additional background and supporting information so that a no specialist in the area of debt management may undertake a country assessment effectively. The guide can be used by assessors in preparing for and undertaking an assessment. It is particularly useful for understanding the rationale for the inclusion of the indicators, the scoring methodology, and the list of supporting documents or evidence required, and the questions that could be asked for the assessment.