Poor electricity supply in west nile a national scandal – Kadaga

Arua, Uganda  | THE INDEPENDENT |  The Speaker of Parliament Rt. Hon. Rebecca Kadaga has said the issue of poor power supply in W. Nile is a national scandal that needs to be addressed as soon as possible. 

Kadaga was greeted by cries of power blackout in Arua town on Friday as she commissioned six ambulances to cater for emergency medical needs. 

The Speaker also disclosed that a lot of demands have been made before to the leader of government business on several occasions to have the power needs of the region addressed but all has passed without action. 

She however, pledged to meet President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni so that issue of electricity can be addressed before the 2021 general elections.  

West Nile currently experiences load shedding for more than 12 hours and according to Eng. Alfred Ambayo, the distribution manager West Nile Rural Electrification company- Wenreco the water level at Nyagak has gone down due to the dry season, making it difficult to run the three turbines.

Meanwhile Electromax that currently runs eight generators to add on to what is generated from Nyagak hydro power dam has been hit by shortage of fuel to run the generators, making them operate only for five hours instead of 12 hours. Lawrence Songa Biyika, the chairperson West Nile Parliamentary Forum has appealed to the government to have the region fully connected to the Karuma Dam power and further cautioned that if the issue of electricity and bad roads are not addressed, the next elections could become a challenge for the NRM. 

However, Bernard Atiku, the MP for Ayivu County says many roads in Arua that President Museveni promised to be worked on during the 2016 elections have remained a big challenge and are further hindering progress of business between Uganda and DR congo.  

According to the NRM supporters and MPs in West Nile, if the roads, electricity and other pledges by President Museveni over the years for West Nile are not fulfilled this time round, the 2021 elections will be difficult to win by all NRM candidates.

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