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In the Press |
National Water in smooth flow
(By Editorial
A regional survey
named National Water and Sewerage Corporation the most respected public
sector entity in Uganda last year.
The PricewaterhouseCoopers/Nation Media Group\'s East Africa\'s)
By Editorial
A regional survey
named National Water and Sewerage Corporation the most respected public
sector entity in Uganda last year.
The PricewaterhouseCoopers/Nation Media Group's East Africa's Most
Respected Companies Survey is highly regarded by business elites in the
region and beyond. So to be recognised by such business peers is
something to write home about.
And National Water continues to demonstrate why it is a leader, and
maybe not just in the public sector. Only last week, the parastatal
broke ground to launch the construction of a training and research
centre in Kampala.
We applaud this very reasonable move. Water and Environment Minister
Maria Mutagamba could not have captured the significance of the moment
in better terms: "In today's world, institutions, which do not innovate
through research and development, and therefore do not identify with
best practices, are bound to atrophy."
One would be hard-pressed to name any other entity in Uganda that
actively engages in research and development and therefore serious
innovation. Yet it is research and development, with the full embrace
of information technologies, that will help businesses and countries
move forward in truly significant ways. To do things any other way is
to embark on the road to atrophy.
The government could think of coming up with ways to encourage
businesses and parastatals, especially the big ones that can afford to
raise capital, to engage in research and development. How about tax
breaks here and there? After all, through R&D, enterprises do not
only remain competitive, they provide even more jobs for people. This
is even more so when they come up with new ideas and products that can
form new sources of income.
National Water may not yet be a top-notch public enterprise as seen in
its quest to improve by launching the research centre. But it sure is
trying. It is exporting expertise to Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Accra and
other such places.
That is already a tribute to its management. That said, it still has a
lot of work to do at home. Things are looking up on the water front
with service coverage rising to 70 percent.
Not so the sewerage side. Sewerage service coverage is a mere 7 percent
and there appears to be slow momentum in turning things around. Clean
water matters. But so does a clean, foul-less environment. We hope
National Water will rise to the sewage occasion as well.
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Copyright © 2008, National Water & Sewerage Corporation | Plot 39, Jinja Road, P.O. Box 7053 Kampala, Uganda
Tel: (+) 256 414 315100 / 0312 260 414/5, Fax: (+) 256 414 258 299 / 345 531, E-mail: info@nwsc.co.ug |
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