National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) Managing Director Eng. Dr. Silver Mugisha has told a global academic summit that public utilities must under go a fundamental transition from engineering–only organizations to customer–centric service providers to survive modern climate and urban growth pressures.
Speaking at the Global South Academic Conclave (GSAC) 2026 at CEPT University, Dr Mugisha attibuted the transformation of Uganda’s national water utility from a struggling entity into a high–performing public enterprisetp good customer care services.
He argued that in the “Global South reality,” utilities sit at the critical intersection of climate resilience, public finance, governance and social equity.
Dr. Mugisha told the gathering that under his helm NWSC now operates in over 287 towns, up from just 23 in 2013.
NWSC currently manages more than 1 million water connections serving an estimated 22+ million people, with an annual turnover that has grown from shs 170 billion to shs 622 billion, over the last decade.
According to Mugisha Engineering builds systems service delivery builds customer trust
He further attributed the Corporation’s success to a business model that prioritizes operational efficiency and service equity over mere asset expansion.
“New Performance Management” contract agreements establish clear performance indicators at the corporate, area and individual levels to ensure accountability,” he said.
He stated that performance contracts have fundamentally changed behavior across the organization, moving staff toward a mindset of financial self–reliance and “utility as a business.”
Key interventions
NWSC has also heavily prioritized digital transformation. By developing home grown digital systems, rather than relying solely on expensive off–the–shelf imports,
These digital enablers allowed fast decision making, reduced non–revenue water and improve billing efficiency.
Commenting on the Corporation challenge Mugisha identified financing of sewerage versus water systems as leading handle
“ While water coverage has expanded rapidly, sanitation infrastructure often lags behind, due to high costs and lower direct cost recovery. Utilities must balance affordability for the public with the necessity of cost recovery to remain commercially viable,”he stressed.
He called for a new era of academia–utility– partnerships — urging researchers to move beyond theoretical papers and focus on solving real operational problems.
He further encouraged the academic community to support grassroots innovators and scale up proven technologies that address specific Global South challenges.
“We need to invest in ecosystems bridging the classroom and the field,” Dr. Mugisha said. “Engineering innovation must drive the water and sanitation transformation agenda.”
NWSC aims to expand its reach to 350 towns and serve 26 million people, by 2030.
NWSC Senior Manager Performance Management & Staff Development, Martin Kalibbala shared insights on NWSC’s data driven actions and innovations for WASH and climate change – during a panel session, whilst Ms. Penninah Nabireeba, Branch Manager of Industrial Area Branch (Kampala Water), shared the NWSC success stories during the best practices in urban water utility operations session.