MINSTRY OF WATER HAND OVER SEWERAGE MANAGEMENT PLANT TO KOBOKO AUTHORITIES

Part of the treatment plant. All photos by Godwin Abedican
 
By Godwin Abedican
Arua
 
The directorate of water development under the ministry of water and environment 18 months ago with funding from the world bank commenced the construction of fecal sludge treatment plant located in media sub county Asunga ward on a 7-acre land to handle fecal waste from Koboko municipality and the district as part of a Two billion, three hundred seventy three million, one hundred sixty thousand nine hundred  six (2,373,160,906) shillings World Bank project for construction of sanitation facilities in Koboko.
 
The Municipality and district leaders have therefore been called upon to pay keen attention towards the maintenance of the facility.
 
Speaking during the handover of the facility to the authorities on Wednesday June 11, 2025, Engineer Emmex Turyatunga the Principal Engineer Urban Water and Sewage Department in the Ministry of Water and Environment says when government puts up such facilities, they always face challenges with local maintenance by the beneficiaries.
 
“Constructing a facility like that is easy but maintaining it in good working condition is one of the hardest things. The Municipality should not stop monitoring. You have seen solar panels; you have seen pumps. Once in a while, go there and see if those things are still in good condition, find out if the taps are still working and if the water is still flowing. It is very important to continue monitoring so that even if someone comes back after 5 years, he should find they are still serving the people of Koboko Municipality,” Eng. Turyatunga called.

Engineer Emmex Turyatunga (in eye glasses), the Principal Engineer Urban
Water and Sewage Department in the Ministry of Water and Environment
handing over the project documents to Candiga Boniface-Deputy Town
Clerk Koboko.
 
According to Joel Azabo, the Principal Health inspector Koboko Municipality, the completion of this project comes timely, the demand for such a facility in the municipality has been long overdue due to the rapidly growing population.
 
“If the community hears that this project has been technically handed over, many of them would want to start using it today. There are people who even went ahead to ask the municipality to dig for them a temporary pit for dumping. Many of the cesspits are nearing their capacity of being full and the pressure is very high in Koboko town,” Azabo revealed.
 
Handed over to the northern umbrella of water and sanitation an authority under the ministry of water responsible for managing operation and maintenance of water supply systems outside the jurisdiction of National water and sewerage Cooperation, the solar powered facility is comprised of planted drying beds with series of sand particles layers to filter the sludge, snooze gates for controlling the  bed sludge,  a great chamber for retaining large particles of a sludge, drying tray for solid sludge used as organic manure when collected, a constructed wetland among other components and rock filters where there are layers that purify the sludge and is channeled to the environment to produce clear water and if disinfected can be made for use in fishponds and agriculture.
 
Mambo Simon the Secretary for Social and Community Services for the municipality decries the misuse of the environment due to lack of such which he said has finally been met by a solution.
 
He said, “This is a facility that we have been waiting for. We are a rowing town and these challenges have been existing.  Including open dumping of fecal matter. Recently we discovered that some people emptied their pits and dumped in our wetlands and as an office we had to struggle to remove that and burry somewhere else. Therefore, as the people of Koboko Municipality, I think this facility will address all these challenges.”
 
Ministry and Koboko leaders inspecting part of the facility at the site during the handover.
 
Engineer Ronald Olara, an engineer with ministry of water an environment and cluster manager for West Nile under the Northern Umbrella of water and sanitation calls for the streamlining of service providers towards the project.

“We will promote both private and umbrella operations in this scenario. The district and municipality have to make us know of the private operators who are dealing in fecal sludge and we onboard them into the operations. This will help us inform them on what exactly they should do because we don’t want a situation where they will overcharge. We shall sit with them agree on the fees for them to charge,” he told from the leaders.
 
Under the Integrated Water Management and Development Project (IWMDP), the construction of Namasale water supply and sanitation system and sanitation facilities covered among other areas latrines in schools and the municipality headquarters.
  
Meanwhile Ajonye Florence the deputy mayor Koboko Municipality says there is still gap for them to consider the maintenance and support towards the facility.
 
“We passed our budget a few days ago and the good thing is that, it was passed with amendments, meaning that, this issue should make us go back and add in terms of budgeting on how we can support this project as a Municipality” Ajonye said.
 
In the operations of the facility, residents and institutions within 20 kilometers radius will be expected to pay 150,000 shillings for cesspool services when they use the trucks from the umbrella, and those at distance shall have their costs determined based on distance, while private service provider will be paying between 30,000 to 50,000 for emptying their silages at the facility.