UBL drills 20 boreholes worth shs560m for communities in Teso, Lango sub-regions

As part of its Water of Life Program, beer company, Uganda Breweries Limited has handed over 20 hand pump boreholes worth shs 560 million to communities in the Northern and North- Eastern sub-regions of Teso and Lango.

These will serve 9,223 people across the districts of Oyam, Lira, Kapelebyong, Katakwi and Bukedea.

The boreholes were officially received by the Resident District Commissioner of Bukedea, Hajj Imran Mulunga, during  a ceremony attended by regional Members of Parliament, RDCs, local councillors, Chief Administrative Officers and residents at  the Rock View Village, Aluwa Parish, Kolir Sub County, Bukedea District.

“This project demonstrates tremendous progress towards aiding the government in prioritising the development of the nation’s human capital under the National Development Plan III, and I appreciate Uganda Breweries Limited for being a true corporate citizen that transforms the lives of so many through this and other projects,”Mulunga said.

Under the National Development Plan III (NDPIII) 2020-2025, the Ugandan government is placing a priority on human capital development through to among others improve the population’s health, safety and management by increasing access to safe water supply from 70% to 85% in rural areas and from 74% to 100% in urban areas.

This is in response to the country losing 400 people daily from water-borne infections like diarrhea, dysentery, cholera and typhoid as a result of limited access to clean water, according to Ministry of Health figures.

Speaking during the handing over of the water project, UBL’s Managing Director, Andrew Kilonzo said this was part of their efforts to give back to communities.

“Uganda’s Vision 2040 identifies human capital development as one of the fundamentals that need to be strengthened to accelerate the country’s transformation, and investing in sanitation and hygiene is one of the ways through which we shall achieve this transformation. Through this project and others like it, UBL is working with the government to directly address the low access to safe drinking water (51%), latrine coverage (19%), and access to hand-washing facilities (34%),”Kilonzo said.

The project, which is under UBL’s Water of Life Program and  commenced in July 2020, involved input from LCV Chairpersons, District Water Officers and communities in the sub-regions and was implemented under the guidance of national policy and technical guidelines in compliance with safe drinking water standards.

Through the program, the brewer works closely with several stakeholders to implement a comprehensive strategy to achieve an overall positive water impact in its supply chains and beyond by  among others , improving water use efficiency in its operations and directly replenishing the water it uses to create a net positive water impact.

“We believe in sharing value with the communities in Uganda, which includes finding needs that we can invest resources to address. We took this opportunity to strengthen the community in Teso and Lango sub-regions by improving access to clean water and sanitation” Kilonzo said.

“We will continue to play an active role in being a positive driver of growth and development in Uganda.”

The beer company has  invested over shs 20 billion in water and sanitation projects across Uganda benefitting over two  million people.

Some of the projects include a shs 335 million piped water supply system in Buwali sub- county, Bududa district that has benefitted over 2,000 residents, the construction of 37 boreholes in the Acholi sub-region and the implementation of a shs 1 billion water and sanitation project in Bulangira, Kibuku District in partnership with Water Aid Uganda.