The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Minister Ruth Nankabirwa and her colleagues at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development are aware of the tasks they have taken on, at least gauging from what has been in public discussion.
The immediate former Government Chief Whip, says there are issues at the ministry that anyone can hear of even on the streets.
Nankabirwa says all the sub-sectors under her new ministry are riddled with problems of delayed project completions, reports of graft and general under performance, and in her own words, she says she is coming to make a facelift of the ministry.
The others under her docket are Minister of State (Energy), Okasai Sidronius Opolot, a new time government minister and the State Minister (Minerals), Peter Lokeris, who retained his post in the recent appointments.
Nankabirwa who replaced the now minister for Karamoja Goretti Kitutu, says the demands by the public are only three, to see oil, get connected to electricity and get value from minerals, and that and her duty is to deliver them. “I am energetic and committed to ensure we meet the targets set in order to deliver services to the people.”
One of the challenges she will have to resolve is the management issues at the Rural Electrification Agency, REA, which was tasked to implement the free electricity connection policy. Under this program, many connection projects are started and abandoned, with others completed after concerted pressure, and Nankabirwa is aware of this.
REA has also been headed by an acting Chief Executive Officer following the suspension of Godfrey Turyahikayo over alleged abuse of office. While he served as Executive Director, changes were made to the instrument that formed the agency and the position of ED was scrapped and replaced with that of CEO.
This change was unsuccessfully challenged in court by the Centre for Public Interest Law Limited. It states that the CEO will be 55 years or below on first appointment, and this effectively locked out the 75-year old Turyahikayo.
The other issue that has been pending is the license of the largest electricity distributor, UMEME, whose 20-year concession ends in 2025. Umeme Board Chairman Patrick Bitature says they are worried because time is running out and the company cannot attract new investments unless the prospective investors are sure that the company has the contract for long.
According to him, the negotiations will soon resume now that the politicking season has come to an end with the appointment of a new cabinet. Nankabirwa says most of the agencies under the ministry have issues and she has vowed to take them on with both the political and management teams.
The challenges at the ministry have partly been blamed on the many agencies that were created after the de-bundling of the former Uganda Electricity Board (UEB). The Permanent Secretary at the ministry, Robert Kasande says the impending merger of the agencies could go a long way in resolving some of the challenges. This will include formally streamlining the REA into the ministry, as well as pushing for the finalization of the electricity bills that are currently at the cabinet level.
Kasande assures however that the plans that have been made to increase accessibility and better services will continue through next year and later, including achieving a 100% electricity access by 2030. This involves expanding the transmission and distribution networks that currently stand at 3,000km and 50,000km respectively. Currently, access to electricity is about 52%, including those consumers who use stand-alone sources like off-grid solar.
Uganda produces about 1,260 megawatts of power and uses less than two thirds of that. The PS says this is poised to increase later this year especially if Karuma Power Station is completed. Karuma dam whose construction started in 2013 was due for completion in 2020, but the deadline has been extended several times, with the latest set for June 2022.
Simon D’Ujanga, who has been state minister for energy prayed to the new ministers not to extend the deadline, saying the project has delayed for too long.
Nankabirwa comes to the ministry boasting of a long experience in different ministries, most of them key, and says she is ready to apply the same energy at her new place.
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