KAMPALA — General Caleb Akandwanaho aka Salim Saleh, the Chief Coordinator of Operation Wealth Creation (OWC), has urged the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) to go beyond its core water and sewerage mandate by using its expertise, resources and partnerships to support value addition and improve community livelihoods.
Gen Saleh made the remarks during a meeting with NWSC Managing Director Eng. Dr Silver Mugisha on Thursday. The meeting was also attended by Paul Turyamureeba Kahigi, NWSC Senior Manager for Environment and Social Safeguards.
Gen Saleh, a senior adviser to President Yoweri Museveni, told Dr Mugisha that leaders of public institutions should champion initiatives that promote value addition and demonstrate how institutional resources can contribute to sustainable community development.
He said agricultural production and processing should be treated as important drivers of economic transformation, with public institutions using their existing capabilities and partnerships to generate benefits for communities alongside their primary mandates.
He described the approach as a form of corporate social investment through which institutions can contribute directly to improving household incomes, supporting small enterprises and strengthening local economies.
During the meeting, he cited several Ugandan coffee brands, including Elgonia Coffee House, Heritage Coffee and Abbarci Coffee, which are marketed under the slogan “Sip the Pearl of Africa,” as examples of how agricultural produce can be transformed into higher-value products capable of commanding better prices and accessing wider markets.
He also commended Kahigi for his community engagement initiatives in the different roles he has held, describing them as an example of how individual initiative can complement institutional responsibility to deliver positive results.
Gen Saleh and Dr Mugisha agreed to explore ways of aligning value addition and agricultural production initiatives with NWSC’s public-service framework.
The initiatives are intended to support household incomes, small businesses and rural livelihoods while allowing NWSC to continue fulfilling its primary responsibility of providing water and sewerage services.
OWC, launched by President Museveni around 2013, is a government initiative aimed at improving rural household incomes by supporting the transition from subsistence to commercial agriculture. Saleh, a retired general, has headed the initiative since its establishment.
NWSC is a state-owned utility responsible for water and sewerage services in nearly 290 towns across Uganda, serving more than 22 million people.
Thursday’s meeting followed an August 5 engagement in Kapeeka, Nakaseke District, where Saleh and Mugisha discussed waste-management strategies under the Organic Dark Matter initiative, a joint effort involving Kampala Capital City Authority, OWC and NWSC.
During the Kapeeka meeting, Gen Saleh also presented Dr Mugisha with a copy of his book on land organisation for national economic transformation.