By Spy Uganda
Kampala: Parliament’s Committee on Government Assurance and Implementation has proposed that the Ministry of Finance allocate a subsidy of 160.34 billion shillings to the Energy Ministry.
This funding aims to support direct electricity connections to industrial parks, following a presidential directive issued on June 4, 2022, to set the cost of electricity for manufacturers at US cents 5 per unit from hydropower stations.
The committee’s recommendation, presented in a report to the plenary on Thursday, February 15, 2024, underscores the need to implement the presidential directive effectively.
The directive aimed to foster fair competition and enhance productivity by ensuring low tariff incomes for industrial parks.
According to Committee Chairperson Abed Bwanika, while two private industrial parks in Kapeeka and Buikwe were piloted to evaluate the impact of low tariff incomes, it became evident that publicly operated industrial parks faced challenges such as insufficient electricity or high costs of access.
The committee emphasized the necessity of supporting regulations to govern the execution of the presidential directive, as mandated by the Electricity Amendment Act, 2022. It called upon the Ministry of Energy to present these regulations to Parliament promptly.
Additionally, the Ministry of Energy was tasked with outlining a clear roadmap for extending electricity directly from power generation plants to industrial parks.
This initiative aims to ensure reliable and affordable power supply to support industrial growth across the country.
