Do Pro-Poor Policies Increase Water Coverage? An Analysis of Service Delivery in Kampala's Informal Settlements

Uganda is one of the poorest countries
in Africa with a gross national income (GNI) per capita in
2010 of United States (U.S.) $500 compared with the
Sub-Saharan regional average of $1,170. Uganda's
population growth of over 3 percent per year, one of the
highest in the world, puts a considerable strain on public
sector service delivery, not just for water and sanitation
but also in other areas such as health, education, and
transport. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of
the pro-poor policies introduced by the National Water and
Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) between 2004 and 2010, by
analyzing the effectiveness, efficiency, and equity of these
policies and strategies implemented by the Government of
Uganda (GoU) and NWSC to increase coverage of urban water
supply services in poor settlements. The study focuses
exclusively on the area of Kampala city, the capital of
Uganda, as this constitutes the largest service area of the
NWSC - with approximately 60 percent of its connections and
64 percent of its revenues. The assessment of the impact of
the pro-poor policies on the poor in Kampala is based on an
analysis of the effectiveness, the efficiency, and the
equity of these policies since 2004. The report is divided
into the following six chapters: chapter one gives the
introduction of the report and presents the objectives and
methods used. Chapter two presents an overview of the water
sector in Kampala, including the legal, institutional, and
regulatory framework, a definition of poverty in Kampala and
what this means for poor households. Chapter three describes
the urban water sector policy and the strategy developed by
the NWSC to expand services and improve financial
performance. Chapter four analyzes in detail the impact of
NWSC policies and water supply delivery mechanisms on
services to poor households in Kampala. Chapter five
contains the conclusions of the study. Chapter six contains
recommendations for further analysis which can be undertaken
by the NWSC, GoU, and or the World Bank.