Police raid power companies
Jun 27, 2009
THE Police anti-fraud squad on Thursday raided the offices of electricity companies and the energy ministry to investigate the suspected inflation of power tariffs.
By Vision reporter
THE Police anti-fraud squad on Thursday raided the offices of electricity companies and the energy ministry to investigate the suspected inflation of power tariffs.
The operation that started in the afternoon lasted until 10:00pm. The power organisations searched included the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company (UETCL), UMEME, and the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA).
Also searched was the home of former UMEME managing director Paul Mare who quit earlier this year after his contract had expired.
Judith Nabakooba, the Police spokesperson, said the Police had sufficient reason to suspect fraud in the raided companies.
“The Government lost a lot of money in the power sector through mismanagement. I cannot go into details because we have just opened an inquiry,†she told Saturday Vision.
“The Government has invested a lot of money in the power sector but it has lost almost the whole of that money.â€
Saturday Vision has established that the Police want to audit the computation of power tariffs, which some people consider unrealistically high.
“Somebody think that the tariffs are not competitive. Therefore, they want to compute for themselves and establish the true price,†said a source familiar with the issue.
UMEME in a statement explained that a team of the Criminal Investigations Department conducted an operation in which they carried away some computers and retrieved and copied data from others in its finance department.
The statement, signed by public relations officer Edward Twine, said the management was not aware of the basis or motivation for this operation.
“According to the investigating team, this is a sector-wide investigation in the energy industry in Uganda, including the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company and the Electricity Regulatory Authority.â€
They were informed that the purpose of the operation was “to investigate alleged loss of Government fundsâ€, according to Twine, but he added that this should not concern UMEME, being a private company.
The Government is subsiding UMEME at a tune of sh92b a year. The injection is meant to cover the losses and keep the prices low. Despite this, Uganda still has the highest electricity tariffs in East Africa.
Domestic consumers pay sh62 per unit for the first 15 units after which it goes up to sh426 per unit. Kenyans, in comparison, pay sh38 per unit for the first 50 units, after which they pay between sh166 and sh345 per unit.
Uganda also has the highest losses in the region. A total of 35% of electricity gets lost due to theft and technical faults, according to UMEME officials, compared to 20% in Tanzania and Kenya.
Of the 35% losses in Uganda, 18% are as a result of theft while 16% are due to technical reasons. In comparison: the electricity distributor in Ireland loses 2% to theft and 11% to technical faults.
Fred Kabagambe-Kaliisa, the permanent secretary in the energy minister, confirmed that his office had been raided. “I was told that the Police came to my office and were looking for some information, that they were investigating some issues,†he said.
“My people referred them to me because I was still at a State House meeting. This is something very normal since the Police and the Government work hand in hand.â€
Paul Mare, who quit a few months ago, said: “It is true that the Police came and ransacked my residence but I didn’t know their motive. You better ask the Police.â€
Both the bosses of ERA and UETCL confirmed the raids but hastened to downplay the matter.
“The Police came and told us they were looking for some information, which we provided,†said Frank Ssebowa of ERA.
“They wanted certain information because they are investigating some issues, which is a normal routine. They accessed our files and computers and went with the information they wanted,†said Eng. Erias Kiyemba, the managing director of UETCL.
THE Police anti-fraud squad on Thursday raided the offices of electricity companies and the energy ministry to investigate the suspected inflation of power tariffs.
The operation that started in the afternoon lasted until 10:00pm. The power organisations searched included the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company (UETCL), UMEME, and the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA).
Also searched was the home of former UMEME managing director Paul Mare who quit earlier this year after his contract had expired.
Judith Nabakooba, the Police spokesperson, said the Police had sufficient reason to suspect fraud in the raided companies.
“The Government lost a lot of money in the power sector through mismanagement. I cannot go into details because we have just opened an inquiry,†she told Saturday Vision.
“The Government has invested a lot of money in the power sector but it has lost almost the whole of that money.â€
Saturday Vision has established that the Police want to audit the computation of power tariffs, which some people consider unrealistically high.
“Somebody think that the tariffs are not competitive. Therefore, they want to compute for themselves and establish the true price,†said a source familiar with the issue.
UMEME in a statement explained that a team of the Criminal Investigations Department conducted an operation in which they carried away some computers and retrieved and copied data from others in its finance department.
The statement, signed by public relations officer Edward Twine, said the management was not aware of the basis or motivation for this operation.
“According to the investigating team, this is a sector-wide investigation in the energy industry in Uganda, including the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company and the Electricity Regulatory Authority.â€
They were informed that the purpose of the operation was “to investigate alleged loss of Government fundsâ€, according to Twine, but he added that this should not concern UMEME, being a private company.
The Government is subsiding UMEME at a tune of sh92b a year. The injection is meant to cover the losses and keep the prices low. Despite this, Uganda still has the highest electricity tariffs in East Africa.
Domestic consumers pay sh62 per unit for the first 15 units after which it goes up to sh426 per unit. Kenyans, in comparison, pay sh38 per unit for the first 50 units, after which they pay between sh166 and sh345 per unit.
Uganda also has the highest losses in the region. A total of 35% of electricity gets lost due to theft and technical faults, according to UMEME officials, compared to 20% in Tanzania and Kenya.
Of the 35% losses in Uganda, 18% are as a result of theft while 16% are due to technical reasons. In comparison: the electricity distributor in Ireland loses 2% to theft and 11% to technical faults.
Fred Kabagambe-Kaliisa, the permanent secretary in the energy minister, confirmed that his office had been raided. “I was told that the Police came to my office and were looking for some information, that they were investigating some issues,†he said.
“My people referred them to me because I was still at a State House meeting. This is something very normal since the Police and the Government work hand in hand.â€
Paul Mare, who quit a few months ago, said: “It is true that the Police came and ransacked my residence but I didn’t know their motive. You better ask the Police.â€
Both the bosses of ERA and UETCL confirmed the raids but hastened to downplay the matter.
“The Police came and told us they were looking for some information, which we provided,†said Frank Ssebowa of ERA.
“They wanted certain information because they are investigating some issues, which is a normal routine. They accessed our files and computers and went with the information they wanted,†said Eng. Erias Kiyemba, the managing director of UETCL.