Signing of Record of Discussions on Technical Cooperation Project with Uganda: Supporting the development of training hubs for capacity building for water and sanitation officials in Africa region


2024.07.11
On July 9, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed a Record of Discussions with the Government of the Republic of Uganda for the Project for Capacity Enhancement of Water and Sanitation Regional Training Hub, a technical cooperation project.
In sub-Saharan Africa, access to safe drinking water have been improved across countries under efforts to achieve the SDGs. However, in urban areas of many countries, the development of water supply facilities has not kept pace with rapid population growth. This has resulted in constraints on water supply volume and hours bringing about a decline in the quality of service and customer satisfaction. Consequently, under-collection of water tariff and the deterioration of business management in water utilities have become common issues.
Signing Ceremony
Since the 1990s, the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) of Uganda has been promoting reforms based on a long-term strategy to achieve and sustain operational improvements. By leveraging that experience, NWSC strengthened its revenue structure and business operations by providing training and other services to external customers, both domestic and international. As a result, the efforts have contributed to South-South cooperation and inter-regional partnerships. This approach and service are in line with JICA's aim of contributing to the water supply sector in the African region through mutual learning and cooperation among water utilities. Therefore, to work together with NWSC as a key collaborative partner of JICA activities is very important also from the perspective of long-term capacity building and growth promotion of water utilities and the water supply sector in Africa.
The project aims to strengthen the training business of NWSC, Uganda’s water and wastewater services provider, through development of planning capabilities and skills enhancement, and seeks to promote revenue structure diversification through these efforts. Furthermore, the project is designed to make NWSC a training provider and a capacity-building hub for water and wastewater service providers in the Africa region. This cooperation will contribute to achieving SDGs Goals 6 (Clean water and sanitation) and 17 (Partnerships for the goals).
Details for the project are provided below.
Country | The Republic of Uganda |
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Project title | Project for Capacity Enhancement of Water and Sanitation Regional Training Hub |
Planned implementation period | 36 months |
Executing agency | National Water and Sewerage Corporation Target region: Kampala |
Target region | Kampala |
Specific project details (provisional) | ・Conduct a needs assessment survey for water utility training program in the Africa region. Formulate an implementation strategy and a business plan for the said training, implement it, and conduct a post-implementation review. ・Review, update, and implement domestic trainings. Evaluate the information management system required for training implementation and consider measures for improvement. ・Organize events for water utilities and training providers in the African region including The Third Executive Forum for Enhancing Sustainability of Urban Water Services in Sub-Saharan Africa. |
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