Museveni regrets Bujagali financing mechanism
Jan 26, 2020
Bujagali is a 250MW dam on River Nile, near Jinja commissioned by the President in 2012 at an estimated cost of $800m.
ENERGY SECTOR
For the umpteenth time, President Yoweri Museveni has described his decision to sanction the financing mechanism of Bujagali hydropower dam as a grave error of judgment on his part.
"For Bujagali, I made a mistake of accepting expensive money without adequate consultations," Museveni said.
In his keynote speech to the delegates of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) attending its National Conference on Saturday, Museveni attributed the high power tariffs hamstringing the manufacturing sector to the "distortions" caused by costly power from Bujagali hydropower dam.
Although Museveni noted that modernisation of infrastructure had managed to reduce the cost of doing business in Uganda, the manufacturing sector was still grappling with high power tariffs.
Whereas power from other dams and sources on the national grid go for 5 cents per unit, the one from Bujagali, according to Museveni goes for ¢8.7 per unit.
Bujagali is a 250MW dam on River Nile, near Jinja commissioned by Museveni in 2012 at an estimated cost of $800m.
But for the last three years, the government has explored available opportunities, especially the World Bank, to refinance Bujagali with the aim of making power tariffs affordable.