Umeme has got no cash from govt
Jul 15, 2008
EDITOR—On Friday you published an article alleging that Umeme received $19m from the Government and failed to account for the money. This is the correct position:<br>Umeme has not received any money from the Government.
EDITOR—On Friday you published an article alleging that Umeme received $19m from the Government and failed to account for the money. This is the correct position:
Umeme has not received any money from the Government.
What we got as part of the concession agreement to run the distribution business in Uganda for 20 years were materials worth $11m from the owner of the assets, Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL), towards maintenance and rehabilitation of the network.
The benefit of these materials was passed directly to the customer at no extra cost.
These materials have already been properly utilised. Umeme does not receive any government subsides.
Audits have already been carried out by the Electricity Regulatory Authority, UEDCL and our own auditors with no major discrepancy. Umeme has a billing system which effectively meets the needs of its 300,000 customers.
From time to time we do have to deal with human errors which result in customer complaints, but which are resolved as soon as possible.
By the end of 2008 (after almost four years of operation), Umeme will have invested close to $60m in the business in both the power network and the billing system ensuring that we are ahead of our contractual obligations of investing $65m in our first five years of operation.
Furthermore, Umeme has connected 65,000 new customers in three and a half years of operations against a contracted target of 60,000 in five years.
Robert Kisubi
Corporate Communication Manager
Umeme
Umeme has not received any money from the Government.
What we got as part of the concession agreement to run the distribution business in Uganda for 20 years were materials worth $11m from the owner of the assets, Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL), towards maintenance and rehabilitation of the network.
The benefit of these materials was passed directly to the customer at no extra cost.
These materials have already been properly utilised. Umeme does not receive any government subsides.
Audits have already been carried out by the Electricity Regulatory Authority, UEDCL and our own auditors with no major discrepancy. Umeme has a billing system which effectively meets the needs of its 300,000 customers.
From time to time we do have to deal with human errors which result in customer complaints, but which are resolved as soon as possible.
By the end of 2008 (after almost four years of operation), Umeme will have invested close to $60m in the business in both the power network and the billing system ensuring that we are ahead of our contractual obligations of investing $65m in our first five years of operation.
Furthermore, Umeme has connected 65,000 new customers in three and a half years of operations against a contracted target of 60,000 in five years.
Robert Kisubi
Corporate Communication Manager
Umeme