Piped water consumers in Uganda can expect to get better service delivery on the back of business deals signed between National Water & Sewerage Corporation and two mobile phone companies. William Muhairwe, the managing director of NWSC told Daily Monitor that the company would save millions of dollars annually by receiving water payments through mobile-money payment systems. “We are going to ensure that we re-invest this money into the system to make it more suitable for the customers,” Muhairwe said in an interview with AllAfrica.com in Kampala. On Monday, Uganda Telecom Limited (UTL) became the second mobile operator to enter a partnership with the water company to collect its bills through its mobile money service dubbed M-sente. The UTL deal came less than a week after NWSC entered a similar agreement with MTN Uganda. The companies are charging customers between Shs300 and Shs700 per SMS meant for a water bill transaction. The corporation spends huge sums of money in the transfer of cash from its branches around the country to banks by way of bullion vans with escorts. “The insurance cost was very high because we had to pay the security companies and also the banks. So that cost will be saved,” Muhairwe said. BM
