Government plans to increase rural water supply

The government of Uganda planned to increase the proportion of rural people with access to safe water from 52 percent to 58 percent by 2003, the semi-official ‘New Vision’ newspaper reported on Tuesday. “Increased funding this financial year and over the medium term is in line with the government’s intention to increase rural water coverage,” the report quoted Finance Minister Gerald Ssendula as saying. Speaking at a Water Africa 2001 conference in Kampala on Monday, Ssendula said Uganda had a target of providing safe water to all Ugandans by 2015, but needed strong leadership and well-planned investments in order to achieve this.