A Shs21 billion government water project launched nearly eight years ago to provide clean water to more than 135,000 people in Ibanda and neighbouring areas has come under renewed scrutiny after concerns that the project remains incomplete.
Kazo legislator Dan Kimosho has accused the Ministry of Water and Environment of failing residents who were promised reliable piped water through the Nyabuhikye–Kikyenkye Gravity Flow Scheme.
In a strongly worded statement, Kimosho questioned why the project, launched in 2018, has not delivered the promised services despite years of government spending.
“Eight years later, the project is incomplete,” Kimosho said, claiming that abandoned water tanks at Kanoni Sub-county headquarters are now being vandalised because they have not been connected to the necessary pipeline infrastructure.
Kimosho said the project was intended to serve more than 135,000 people in parts of Ibanda and Kazo, but residents in Kazo continue to face water shortages.
Project has been delayed for years
Government records confirm that the project has experienced prolonged implementation problems.
A Ministry of Finance assessment previously reported that the Nyabuhikye–Kikyenkye water supply project had stalled at about 67% for nearly two years.
Among the challenges cited were rocky terrain requiring heavier excavation equipment than initially anticipated, land acquisition difficulties and other implementation problems.
The Ministry of Water and Environment’s sector performance reports have also repeatedly recorded delays.
A 2020 sector report said the scheme targeted 135,629 people and was expected to be handed over to the National Water and Sewerage Corporation after completion. At the time, parts of the project remained substantially incomplete, including treatment plant works and sections of the transmission system.
The government later reported significant progress. A 2023 presentation by the Ministry of Water and Environment put the project at 90% completion, with 1,000 promotional connections reportedly made.
However, a subsequent Ministry of Water performance report for FY2023/24 still listed the Nyabuhikye–Kikyenkye Gravity Flow Scheme at 82% completion, suggesting that the project had not yet reached operational completion despite years of construction.
Kimosho invokes Museveni intervention
Kimosho says the stalled project was raised directly with President Yoweri Museveni during a meeting at Rwakitura on January 3, 2024.
According to the legislator, Museveni personally contacted Secretary to the Treasury Ramathan Ggoobi and Minister of State for Water Aisha Sekindi, who reportedly committed to resolving the matter.
Kimosho says the President was concerned about the continued lack of water in Kazo and warned against “mocking” the people of the area.
Yet, according to the legislator, the problem remains unresolved.
“Today Kazo still has no water,” Kimosho said.
Government records expose a troubling timeline
The project’s long history makes the latest controversy particularly significant.
Government documents show that the scheme was already experiencing delays several years ago. In 2022, the Ministry of Finance reported that works had reached approximately 85% cumulative progress but were proceeding slowly and were already long overdue.
In March 2023, however, the project’s site manager told local media that construction had reached 95%, with the remaining major work reportedly involving the water treatment plant. He said completion depended on additional government financing and support.
The conflicting progress figures over the years raise questions about why a project that was reported to be between 90% and 95% complete in 2023 was still appearing in government records as incomplete thereafter.
The latest publicly available media report found by UG Mirror also indicates that residents in Kikyenkye have appealed to President Museveni over the stalled Shs21 billion project.
NTV reported that the scheme, started in 2018, had stalled and was intended to serve communities in Ibanda, Kazo, Kiruhura and surrounding areas.
The questions over Shs21 billion
Kimosho is now demanding accountability from the Ministry of Water and Environment, questioning where the value of the massive public investment can be seen on the ground.
He asked why the project has taken approximately eight years without being fully delivered and who should be held responsible for the delays.
The controversy also comes as the government’s 2026–2031 manifesto continues to identify water infrastructure in the Nyabuhikye–Kikyenkye area, listing a Nyabuhikye–Kikyenkye Phase II among planned water projects.
For residents who were promised functioning water infrastructure years ago, the central issue remains simple: when will the taps actually run?
Kimosho says the people of Kazo deserve answers—and, above all, water.
