A case for regulatory impact assessment of the rural water supply and management in Uganda

Abstract

The study aimed at examining influence of the National Water Policy, 1999 on the rural water supply and management. The Uganda's water supply and management is regulated by the National Water Policy, 1999 and The Water Statute of 1995 frameworks. The purpose of this study was to identify the gaps in the National Water Policy, 1999 with main focus on the rural water supply and management, to assess the need for improvement of the regulatory environment and operations for the benefit of the rural water management systems in Uganda. The research paper used a qualitative approach that involved document review on the Implementation, Capacity building and Operation and Maintenance of the rural water systems. The findings indicated that there are shortcomings relating to rural water supply and management. These include: delayed update of the existing training manual on bore drilling supervision by the sub-county and district level, limited participation and representation of women in the Water committees, low capacity building for the Area Service Providers, lack of uniformity of implementation approaches to operations and maintenance, and coordination, and limited funding and regulation for the operations of Area Service Providers who are key in operation and maintenance of rural water systems. Based on these findings, there is therefore a need for a Regulatory Impact Assessment of the rural water supply and management in Uganda.