Africa-Press – Uganda. More than 20,000 residents across four parishes in Kibaale District are celebrating relief from decades of water scarcity after the government, through the Ministry of Water and Environment in partnership with the Life-AR programme, invested Shs500 million in a piped water system.
The multi-million-shilling facility, covering villages in Nyamarwa, Kyakazihire, Buhumuriro, and Kyebando sub-counties, was commissioned on Saturday by Finance Minister Matia Kasaija at Kacu Primary School in Kyakazihire Sub-county.
For years, residents had shared contaminated water from swamps and ponds with wild animals from Kangombe Forest Reserve, exposing communities to bilharzia, typhoid, and cholera. Women and children often walked long distances through unsafe bush paths to fetch water, risking snakebites, assault, and attacks by wild animals.
“We have been competing with monkeys, baboons, and chimpanzees for dirty swamp water. This new project is a great relief,” said Annet Tumuramye, a resident of Buhiira.
Eng. Ben Sekuye, Kibaale District Water Engineer, revealed that the Life-AR programme has already constructed 15 boreholes, pushing safe water coverage in Kibaale from 6% to 95% in just one year.
Minister Kasaija, who is also the area MP for Buyanja County, urged residents to guard against vandalism of public utilities.
“I caution people who damage boreholes, taps, and school facilities. Water source committees must remain vigilant to protect these investments,” he said.
Margaret Akello Mwebesa, Commissioner for Climate Change at the Ministry of Water and Environment, said Kibaale was chosen alongside Kabong, Kalungu, and Pader as a pilot district for the Life-AR initiative.
“The Shs500m water project is part of our climate change adaptation strategy. Communities must embrace environmental protection by stopping deforestation, bush burning, and poor waste disposal,” she noted.
Residents expressed gratitude, with many highlighting how the project will reduce disease, improve sanitation, and ease the burden on women and children.
Life-AR (Low Developed Countries Initiative for Effective Adaptation and Resilience) is a flagship programme under the Ministry of Water and Environment aimed at strengthening climate-resilient development in Uganda by 2030, with 70% of climate financing directed to the local level.
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