Shs2b Mukono water pump fails to work in week after commissioning
Minister of State for Wate Aisha Sekindi interacts with locals and leaders after commissioning a Shs2 billion solar water project in Kapeke, Mukono District recently. PHOTO/FILE/JESSICA SABANO
What you need to know:
- The minister acknowledged that a weak solar panel system was affecting functionality of the project as she promised to have it replaced.
Residents of Kapeke Village in Mukono District are dismayed after a Shs2.2 billion solar water pump failed to work barely a week after it was recently commissioned by water state minister Aisha Sekindi.
“We only received a small amount of water the day the minister commissioned the project, and within hours of her departure, the water was gone,”,Kapeka Village resident Anitah Nasubuga, said.
Authorities suggest that solar panels have failed to generate sufficient power to pump water into the tanks for the project originally designed to supply clean water to over 20, 000 people across four villages of Kapeke, Kasenge, Kiwugo, Nangwa, and parts of Mbalala trading center
“We struggle to access water since the wells are too far. We had hope in this water project, but we wonder how much money can be spent to dead projects like this,” Susan Okoth, another Kapeke resident told Monitor on Wednesday.
Locals say the project has become an idle facility with some solar panels visibly missing.
The residents also voiced their frustration about being prevented from sharing their honest opinions about the project with the minister, as they were all denied the chance to speak during the small gathering at Kapeke
Kapeke Village chairperson Geoffrey Kumbi revealed that setting up the solar water pump started in 2020, and it was flagged off by President Museveni during the electoral period ahead of 2021 polls.
“Since then, it had been idle, only benefiting a school owned by a sister of the former minister of state for water,” he added.
Nekemeah Sali, the defence secretary of Kapeke Village, said that he attempted to connect to the system but gave up as his taps and meters began rusting due to lack of water.
Kapeke Village youth Chairperson Christopher Sekyanzi said: “I want the Ministry of Water to intervene quickly so that all of us benefit from the project.”
In response to these concerns, Sekindi acknowledged that a weak solar panel system was affecting functionality of the project as she promised to have it replaced.
Sekindi also issued a directive to disconnect Pearl Junior School from the system.
She added: “I advise residents to use the limited water they receive sparingly while the ministry works on a solution within three months.”
