Uganda’s Ministry of Energy has announced that it will re-nationalize its power sector to reduce costs by divesting from its foreign private partners, such as South Africa’s Eskom and the international Umeme consortium.
In a statement reported by Radio France Internationale (RFI), the objective of this reform is to «provide electricity to Ugandans at affordable prices».
As RFI recalls, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni himself has criticized the two companies on several occasions to the point of accusing them of fraud, in complicity with Ugandan officials.
Museveni has assured that he does not intend to renew the contracts that linked him to Eskom and Umeme, which expire in 2023 and 2025 respectively.
Meanwhile, the government will create the Uganda National Electricity Company to manage production and distribution and thus «minimize» the «excessively expensive part of the private capital invested».
