Recultivate a sense of public good
Apr 24, 2008
UGANDA Electricity Transmission Company has raised the alarm that vandals have extended their unwanted attention to the power transmission lines.<br>Transmission lines carry power from power generation plants to sub-stations that modulate it for domestic and commercial use.
UGANDA Electricity Transmission Company has raised the alarm that vandals have extended their unwanted attention to the power transmission lines.
Transmission lines carry power from power generation plants to sub-stations that modulate it for domestic and commercial use.
The vandals are stealing the steel bars and bolts from these pylons, affecting their stability and increasing the risk that they can fall over in a storm or in heavy winds.
Already, power blackouts in the northern and eastern parts of the country have occurred due to the collapse of towers in Jinja and Tororo districts.
The vandals are selling this stolen merchandise to scrap merchants.
Compromising the integrity of the 1,400 km of transmission lines across the country could have far-reaching economic repercussions.
Apart from the ensuing blackouts that would result from collapsed towers, the transmission lines are fast-becoming a secure means of transmitting data around the country.
Banks, for instance, are now communicating with their upcountry branches utilising optic fibre cables that run along the transmission grid.
The instances of vandalism are increasing to alarming levels. Umeme is barely keeping up with the tampering with their transformers. The Kampala-Kasese railway line has been so hard hit that we will have to build whole sections of the line after the theft of the metallic sleepers.
We are witnessing the canibalisation of our meagre infrastructure because of an inadequate capacity to secure the country’s assets, but more importantly because of a diminishing sense of public good.
The steel processors who deal in this illicit merchandise need huge amounts of electricity to power their plants, an efficient rail system to lower transport costs. So, why do they continue to provide a market for these illicit goods?
Our sense of public good has been eroded over the last 40 years and can only be revitalised by a concerted effort by the Government, education and social institutions.
Transmission lines carry power from power generation plants to sub-stations that modulate it for domestic and commercial use.
The vandals are stealing the steel bars and bolts from these pylons, affecting their stability and increasing the risk that they can fall over in a storm or in heavy winds.
Already, power blackouts in the northern and eastern parts of the country have occurred due to the collapse of towers in Jinja and Tororo districts.
The vandals are selling this stolen merchandise to scrap merchants.
Compromising the integrity of the 1,400 km of transmission lines across the country could have far-reaching economic repercussions.
Apart from the ensuing blackouts that would result from collapsed towers, the transmission lines are fast-becoming a secure means of transmitting data around the country.
Banks, for instance, are now communicating with their upcountry branches utilising optic fibre cables that run along the transmission grid.
The instances of vandalism are increasing to alarming levels. Umeme is barely keeping up with the tampering with their transformers. The Kampala-Kasese railway line has been so hard hit that we will have to build whole sections of the line after the theft of the metallic sleepers.
We are witnessing the canibalisation of our meagre infrastructure because of an inadequate capacity to secure the country’s assets, but more importantly because of a diminishing sense of public good.
The steel processors who deal in this illicit merchandise need huge amounts of electricity to power their plants, an efficient rail system to lower transport costs. So, why do they continue to provide a market for these illicit goods?
Our sense of public good has been eroded over the last 40 years and can only be revitalised by a concerted effort by the Government, education and social institutions.