By Charles Etukuri
Parliament was closed on Friday, March 4, over a water crisis, with members and staff of Parliament being to asked to vacate the building following the closure of sanitary facilities.
In an internal memo to Members of Parliament and staff, Charles Bukuwa, a senior information and public education officer, informed them that they would be told when to come back.
“Following the earlier communication about the shortage of water in Parliament and closure of sanitary facilities, the Clerk to Parliament advises Members and staff of Parliament to vacate the building. The Department of Sergeant at Arms will provide updates on progress of works as from National water and Sewerage Corporation. There will also be communication once the services are back to normal,” Bukuwa wrote, regretting the inconveniences this had caused.
On Thursday, the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) announced emergency repairs at Ggaba Water Works.
In a message on social media, NWSC “regretted to inform its valued customers and the general public that water supply at Ggaba 3 water treatment plant had been closed off to handle an emergency fault.”
The affected areas include the Nakasero service area, which covers the city centre, Kololo, areas along Port Bell Road up to Bugolobi, Mukwano, 5th and 6th street, Kanyanya, Nabweru, Kawempe Mbogo and the surrounding areas.
The repairs also affected Muyenga service area, which includes Acacia Avenue, Wandegeya, Namirembe, Mengo, Makerere, Kawempe, Maganjo, Kagoma, Matugga, Nansana, parts of Namirembe, Nakulabye, Bakuli, parts of city centre, Nile Avenue and the surround areas, Mutungo, parts of Kitintale, Mbuya, Kansanga and customers on Port Bell Road.
NWSC said a team of specialised engineers was on ground working tirelessly to complete works and restore water supply in the shortest time possible and the estimated time of completion was 26 hours. They said they would resume water supply at 3:00am on Saturday, March 5.
Customers were advised to store enough water and use it sparingly.
