NWSC shifts focus from numbers served to lives changed, MD Dr. Silver Mugisha tells IWA podcast

GLASGOW, Scotland; National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) Managing Director Dr Eng Silver Mugisha says the corporation is shifting its focus from how many Ugandans it serves to the impact its services have on their lives, as it expands its network and stabilises water supply across the country.

Speaking to global water and sanitation experts on the International Water Association (IWA) podcast on the sidelines of the IWA World Water Congress and Exhibition in Glasgow, Dr Eng Mugisha said NWSC’s water connections had grown from 300,000 to more than 1 million. Since 2013, NWSC has expanded from 23 towns to 293, as of the end of June 2026, and now serves more than 22 million people.

“Before, we used to focus on how many Ugandans we serve. We now need to go further into the impact created on the ground, the lives you have changed,” he said.

Over the same period, NWSC’s annual turnover has grown from Shs120 billion to Shs680 billion and its assets from Shs580 billion to Shs5 trillion.

Dr Eng Mugisha said utilities working towards water for all must invest in infrastructure to stabilise supply, and that NWSC was putting emphasis on expanding its infrastructure.

“We are aggressively expanding our network whilst carrying out water stabilisation plans to stabilise water supply,” he said.

Among these plans is the 50 Towns Water Supply Improvement Project, through which NWSC is seeking Shs650 billion to increase water production and supply in towns where demand is outstripping supply.

Dr Eng Mugisha said NWSC was working with the Ministry of Water and Environment to reach more Ugandans with clean, safe water across the country.

He said the corporation was putting emphasis on the customer and working towards customer delight, building customer trust through rigorous staff training.

Under its 2025-2030 strategic plan, NWSC aims to grow its customer base to 1.3 million connections by 2030 and to reduce non-revenue water from 34 per cent to 28 per cent.

Dr Eng Mugisha said NWSC had embraced environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles, was concerned about environmental protection and works with institutions mandated to protect the environment.

NWSC’s performance has earned continental and global recognition. It was named Africa’s best water utility for 2013/14 and won African Utility of the Year for 2015/2016 at Africa Utility Week in Cape Town. NWSC also received the Global Water Awards’ Water Leaders distinction twice, in Paris and in London in 2019, the second time for attaining the continent’s highest credit rating for a water utility.

On leadership, Dr Eng Mugisha said leaders need to find their purpose and understand the needs of their stakeholders.

“Leadership is a coordination of knowledge, skills and character competences,” he said.

He described NWSC’s purpose as making a difference in the lives of Ugandans.

“Our purpose is to create a difference among Ugandans with more water and sanitation, improve their economic wellbeing and also reduce water-borne diseases,” Dr Eng Mugisha said. “No institution is bigger than its people.”