Kampala — Water projects worth about sh700m have been commissioned in various parts of Kasese district.

They include a sh650m government-funded gravity flow scheme in the mountainous and hard-to-reach parts of Mahango sub-county and Rukoki parish. Five boreholes, funded by the United Nations Children's Fund, were also commissioned in the lowland sub-counties of Maliba and Munkunyu.

A 14km-murram road, constructed at sh280m, was also commissioned. It will serve the agricultural productive areas of Kitabu and sub-counties around Lake Katwe.

The gravity water flow scheme, with a network of 40 standing pipes and covering 25km, is to serve over 10,000 people, while the boreholes are targeted to serve two primary schools, a secondary school and the surrounding communities.

Officiating at the commissioning ceremonies last week, the district chairperson, the Rev. Can. Julius Kithaghenda, urged the beneficiary communities to own and manage the projects for sustainability and to utilise them to fight poverty and diseases.

"Stop thinking of these projects as government facilities. They are yours and it is up to you to use them for your own good and ensure they are maintained," he said.

Kithaghenda advised the locals to desist from identifying themselves with the opposition, noting that this distances the district from the national cake.

A representative from the water ministry, Alice Ninsiima, noted that Kasese district had over 40 gravity flow schemes, which provide clean and safe water, unlike other areas of Uganda.

She observed: "This water can dry up if you continue destroying the environment from which it comes." Ninsiima also warned that water can be dangerous if hygiene and sanitation are not properly observed.

The district water engineer, Lambert Olweny, said the water levels were reducing around the sources in the district as a result of the rampant cultivation and tree cutting.