Despite abundant natural water resources, many urban residents in Uganda do not have adequate access to safe water and sanitation services, and it is the poor who incur the highest costs. This is primarily due to financial and administrative constraints in the sector. At the same time, population growth and rising rural-urban migration have added to the pressures on the inadequate facilities and have worsened the sanitation-related health problems. Against this background it is difficult for communities, institutions and individuals to realise their full economic potential. Without comprehensive reforms, living conditions, particularly for the urban poor, will not improve.

The Reform of the Urban Water and Sanitation Sector Programme, established in 2002, is a joint undertaking of the Ugandan Ministry of Water and Environment and GTZ, working on behalf of the Federal German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The programme is closely linked to the activities of other German organisations involved in water and sanitation: KfW Development Bank, the German Development Service (DED), the Centre for International Migration and Development (CIM) and InWEnt Capacity Building International. The numerous activities include interventions at all levels of the sector, which are coordinated by KfW Development Bank as a priority area of German Development Cooperation.

Institutions receiving help from GTZ include the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), the Ministry of Water and Environment and the Association of Private Water Operators (Uganda). Some specific measures being pursued by the programme include:

• the preparation of urban water systems for private sector involvement
• support for the government in setting up an independent and reliable regulatory framework for the sector
• assistance in the transformation of the NWSC head office into an asset-holding authority that can manage the assets of the larger urban centres while remaining in public ownership.

Modernisation and clear regulation are essential for transparent tendering processes; they will also encourage private operators to become active in the sector. The RUWAS programme is expected to increase water service coverage to 73 percent in NWSC towns by 2008, with 70 percent of these towns being served by private operators.