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The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development has appealed to Parliament for an additional sh288.2b to address critical funding gaps in eight key priority areas.

Minister of State for Energy Sidronius Opolot Okaasai highlighted the urgent need for increased investment, particularly in rural electrification projects.

These projects, which include TBEA, UREAP, GOU, GETFIT, and Last Mile Connections, require a combined allocation of sh258.51b.

"Demand for electricity is high across the country, but our resources are limited," Minister Okaasai explained. "These additional funds will allow us to significantly expand access to electricity, particularly in rural areas,” he added.

“The question we are struggling with is how we can get resources to reach the areas we have not reached. It remains our responsibility to fund rural electrification. However, even what we are asking is not enough for even seven locks,” he added.

The Ministry's request also includes sh15b for unforeseen and unavoidable expenses related to ongoing projects.

These expenses encompass investments in the National Mining Company and a new mineral laboratory, among others.

Permanent Secretary Irene Batebe emphasized the importance of filling these funding gaps. "Investing in these key areas is essential for unlocking Uganda's economic potential," she stated. "A robust energy sector and a thriving mining industry will create jobs, stimulate development, and improve the lives of Ugandans across the country."

The Ministry's request was presented Monday, March 25th, 2024, during a meeting with the Parliamentary Committee on Environment and Natural Resources.

The Committee, chaired by Emmanuel Otiam Otaala of the National Resistance Movement Party, will now consider the Ministry's proposal, and make recommendations to Parliament.

Budaama South MP and chairperson natural resorces committe Emmanuel Otala, and his deputy Igeme Nabeeta. (Photo by Maria Wamala)

“We shall look around and ensure to find the money for the areas you tried to over emphasize. We are going to look around within our own budget to find the money. As a committee we are going to sit and scrutinise which areas are redundant so that we can get the money reallocated,” he said.

However, the committee also quizzed the team from the ministry for presenting documents which were uncoordinated as they cited contradictions and variations within the documents presented to them.

The committee chairperson also questions the team on the cause of the failure for Karuma not to produce energy for close to a week.

“For the last 6 days Karuma Power Dan has not been producing electricity, in addition to that, even what is being produced is not that much, what is the problem,” he asked.

Minister Opolot explained that the issue stems from operational arrangements that he said were not very clear till now.

Sidronius Okaasai Opolot, Minister of State for Energy and Irene Bateebe, PS Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, before the natural resources committee. (Photo by Maria Wamala)

“The other issue is that there is a requirement for insuring the project so that in case of any disaster we are safe from taking the liability. But this is not yet effected and it is what is delaying things,” he said.

However, Eddie Kwizera (Bukimbiri County, NRM), said that the issue originated from a procurement problem. But the Minister clarified that the operational issue is arising from the supplementary fund that MPs approved and appropriated but were released by the Finance ministry.

“We need finance to respond to this issue because this is what is causing all the problems,” he noted.

MPs asked the ministry to focus on what it can do best. “Why don’t you focus on what you can do and do it well instead of running with many programs and promising many things to the country that you cannot deliver,” they said.

Aisha Nalule Kabanda (Butambala District Woman, NUP), said, “If you breed a cow and it is not giving you the milk you get rid of it. And the fact that we are paying much for power generation and not selling as much,”

Charles Tebandeke (Bbale County, NUP) asked the ministry to present to the committee a detailed report on how much Isimba Dam made in power tariff revenues last year and what they expect to collect this year and where the funds are posted.

“We have issues with energy infrastructure because sometimes we have transformers burst. Are you going to connect to old infrastructure, or have you procured new ones? Secondly, we need a mineral’s map that shows the location of all our mineral deposits,” he said.

According to him, some minerals were not reflected in the document provided and he said that he had reports that some people are being restricted from the Albertine region where mining is taking place.

“We have queries unanswered on previous performance on various projects, so we need a trip and an overall survey on previous projects for purposes of accountability,” Tebandeke said.

The committee chairperson said that they were planning a field trip to evaluate the various projects that the ministry is undertaking, including those claimed to be completed.

Performance

According to Batebe, the ministry has achieved a 72.11 percent performance against the targets of the financial year 2023/2024.

“Overall, 106 out of 147 outputs for the year were achieved representing a 72.11% performance. Eleven outputs were not achieved while 17 outputs were not achieved representing 11% due to the fact that they were not due for implementation during the review period from July 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023,” she noted.