There were cheers and smiles in the conference room at the Speke Resort, Munyonyo as Uganda’s National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) managing director Dr. Eng. Silver Mugisha passed on the baton for the African water and sanitation (Afwasa) president to Dr Blaise Moussa of Cameroon.
This followed today’s (February 20) successful end of the Afwasa Congress and Exhibition in Kampala. Mugisha was the president of the Afwasa board. Dr Blaise Moussa, who is the managing director of Cameroon Water Utilities Corporation (CAMWATER), takes over for the next two years.
“I am pleased to have this peaceful transition which confirms that Afwasa is in very good stead after going through challenging period of Covid,” Mugisha stated as he handed over the symbolic instruments (a spear and shield) of power to Moussa.
Mugisha highlighted the Afwasa congress as one of the most successful in the continental body’s history. For instance, he noted the just-concluded congress had the biggest Water and Sanitation Exhibition space that attracted more than 2,500 delegates from 80 countries.
The event had 116 companies dealing in water and sanitation technologies, supplies and related inputs from 40 countries. Coincidentally, Cameroon was voted the host for the upcoming 2026 Afwasa Congress, which set the tone for Dr Moussa’s reign. The 2026 Afwasa Congress will be held in February in Younde, the Cameroon capital.
Dr Moussa is a qualified expert in public administration, finance and taxation. His PhD is in finance and tax law. Meanwhile, Uganda’s Dr Mahmood Lutaaya was elected the chairman of Afwasa’s Scientific and Technology Council (STC), the organ charged with advancing technological innovations. Lutaaya is the general manager of NWSC’s Kampala Water area.