Protests erupt over Umeme blackouts

SOURCE: THE DAILY MONITOR, 16 NOVEMBER 2011

Police clear the road of paper. PHOTOs BY ISAAC KASAMANI & STEPHEN WANDERA 

IN SUMMARY

Traders countrywide, who mainly depend on electricity, say their businesses are on the verge of collapse due to power blackouts.

Kampala

Traders operating on Nasser and Nkrumah roads in Kampala, yesterday blocked several roads in the central business district protesting the 24-hour load-shedding schedule.

Police now fear the protests could spread to other areas of the country. Similar protests broke out in Lira last Friday, when residents organised peaceful demonstrations to show anger over the continued power outages.

In September, Kisenyi traders also staged demonstrations when Umeme announced there would be a 12-hour load-shedding. Subsequently, load shedding continued to fluctuate between the 12 and 24-hour blackout schedules.

However, the return to a full 24-hour load-shedding was again announced by Umeme last week prompting the angry response from traders whose businesses have been paralysed.

Umeme, however, said the problem set in after owners of thermal generators stopped supplying power to the national grid. Consequently, several business people, especially those that depend on power, countrywide say their businesses are on the verge of collapse.

Machines guttedSeparately, Umeme yesterday said the current load-shedding will go on until alternative power sources are fixed. The Umeme outage manager, Ms Florence Nsubuga, made the disclosure at a press conference in Kampala, hours after the protests erupted.

Ms Nsubuga said load-shedding is as a result of fire outbreak that gutted the machines at Mutundwe power substation four days ago which left most of their power machines damaged which supply power to other parts of the city.

Ms Nsubuga said Umeme has lost at least 80 megawatts from the weekend damage which has been causing the inconsistencies in power stability. She said the company has devised some ways of handling the power blackout, such as using other power substations at Lugogo, Kitante, and Kisugu Service Centre to reduce on the load-shedding problem, at least by next week.

MPs in mid-August asked the government to terminate the Umeme contract but if the move is effected this year, it would require payment of Sh421b to Umeme. But the director of Privatisation Unit, Mr David Ssebabi, yesterday defended the concession to Umeme.

“It is a good deal. Our understanding and our effort was to get the best deal for Uganda,” Mr Ssebabi told the parliamentary Ad hoc Committee that is currently probing the inefficiencies in the power sector.