The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development has been tasked to explain the status of rural electrification projects across the country.
Busujju County MP David Lukyamuzi raised the matter in Parliament on Thursday, saying that the government contracted Tisan Company in 2019, to supply and distribute electricity in Kitongo parish. Mityana District. He, however, added that the project was abandoned after covering only 50 per cent of the planned area.
He added that the government contracted Mega Electricals to distribute power in Butayunja Sub County but this was also abandoned midway. Similarly, Tororo Woman MP Sarah Opendi said that the power projects across the country stalled and that there was a need for a nationwide field assessment to identify and address the prevailing bottlenecks.
Joseph Ssewungu, the Kalungu West County MP pondered why electricity projects continue to stall yet funds were appropriated. “In some places, there are no yaka metres yet they were supposed to be free of charge because we passed the money here through a loan. Why are these projects stalling yet the money was allocated here?” Ssewungu questioned.
Parliament approved a loan request by the Ministry of Finance to borrow US$212.6, approximately Shillings 765.772 billion from China Exim Bank in 2018 to extend electricity supply to 287 Sub-Counties across the country but progress has been slow.
In view of the outcry, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa directed the Ministry of Energy under which the Rural Electrification Agency – REA falls to explain why the government has not completed rural electrification projects across the country.
“Let the Minister of Energy come and give us a comprehensive statement on the implementation of REA projects because the government is losing a lot of money. Imagine in some areas, transformers get damaged before commissioning,” Tayebwa said. He gave the Ministry until Wednesday, May 18, 2022, to present to House a comprehensive statement on the implementation of REA projects.
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They should speed-up electricity distribution in rural areas.