Water Supply and Sanitation in Uganda - Legal Framework

Legal Framework

The current institutional sector framework is based on several policy reforms in the water sector since the mid-1990s. Water supply and sanitation are recognized as key issues under the national Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP), prepared first in 1997 and revised in 2001 and 2004. The PEAP is the key government document for fighting poverty through rapid economic development and social transformation.

The 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda instructs the Ugandan State to take all practical measures to promote a good water management system at all levels and defines clean and safe water as one of its 29 objectives. The current legislative water sector framework was introduced with the 1995 Water Statute, which has the following objectives:

• Promotion of rational water use and management
• Promotion of the provision of a clean, safe, and sufficient domestic water supply to all people
• Promotion of the orderly development of water and its use for other purposes, such as irrigation and industrial use, among others, in ways that minimize harmful effects to the environment
• Pollution control and promotion of safe storage, treatment, discharge, and disposal of waste that may cause water pollution or other threats to the environment and human health.

In accordance with the national constitution, chapter eleven, the Local Government Act of 1997 provides for the decentralization of services, including the operation and maintenance of water facilities for local governments in liaison with the ministries responsible for the sector.

Finally, the National Water Policy (NWP), adopted in 1999, promotes the principles of Integrated Water Resources Management, a comprehensive approach to water supply. In addition, the NWP recognizes the economic value of water, promotes the participation of all stakeholders, including women and the poor, in all stages of water supply and sanitation, and confirms the right of all Ugandans to safe water.