According to Banaabe, this will still be a dream until all the power generated can be consumed. The country now has more power than Ugandans can consume with more power generated going to waste but government has to pay for it.
Uganda has increased its installed capacity to 1200MW after the launch of Isimba. It is expected to reach 1800MW when Karuma comes on board. Only half of this can be consumed. This means the government has to spend money to pay for power generated but not consumed.
Max Walter, a researcher with Centre for Development Alternatives, said most Ugandans’ basic need was not connectivity to electricity. He said they had conducted research and asked Ugandans what they would spend on if they had Shs 10,000 and electricity was not one of them.
This, he said, brings into question whether the government should prioritize electricity access at the household level or at the services that will give ordinary people the needs they want. He argued that the government should ensure that health centres, education facilities, factories have electricity and its affordable.
Health centres would ensure quality care, factories provide jobs while education centres provide quality education. The country has lost 62 per cent of the forest cover because people can’t use electricity for cooking so they depend on biomass. Walter said the government should not take this as business as usual.