If there are any Ugandan CEOs in the hot seat, then it is Uganda Airlines’ Jennifer Bamuturaki and Uganda Electricity Distribution Limited’s Paul Mwesigwa. They run two strategic state enterprises, and both are under intense pressure at exactly the moment when politics, performance, and public frustration are converging. Some of the problems they face are inherited. Others stem from decisions made on their watch. But in state enterprises, where accountability is often as political as it is managerial, leaders can be sacrificed, sometimes not because they caused the crisis, but because they are the most visible symbol of it. A…
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When UMEME’s concession ended in March last year, the market assumed finality. Power lines would keep running, but value, many believed, had gone with the concession. The share price, according to an analysis from Crested Capital, at UGX142, told that story clearly of a company at the end of its road. But then came an arbitration, which perse, is not an epilogue, but opened a second chapter. In June last year, Umeme escalated a $292m compensation claim against the government of Uganda in a London arbitration. Weeks of talks had failed to end the stalemate over compensation for unrecovered assets…
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The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development has tightened control over Uganda’s gold trade, unfolding against a backdrop of record-breaking export earnings, a planned entry of the central bank into domestic gold buying, and persistent concerns over transparency and conflict-linked supply chains. The Energy Ministry today issued a detailed public notice restricting gold trade to licensed players. Under the new directive, trading in gold may only take place between holders of valid mineral dealers’ licences for precious metals, gold mining licences, or refining licences, as provided for under the Mining and Minerals Act, 2022. The notice, issued through the Ministry’s…
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Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) has secured a five-year financing facility worth USD 50 million (about UGX 190 billion) from Absa Bank Uganda to fund urgent upgrades to the national electricity distribution network, even as the company’s board undertakes a comprehensive investigation into the performance and conduct of senior management. The facility, signed on December 15 at the UEDCL Tower in Nakasero, is earmarked for network reinforcements, construction of new electricity substations, rollout of smart-grid initiatives, reduction of technical losses and integration of renewable energy generation. According to UEDCL, the investments are expected to improve electricity reliability, unlock suppressed…
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The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development has instructed the Board of the Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) to carry out a comprehensive investigation into the performance and conduct of the UEDCL’s top management, following major issues raised in a recent audit and performance assessment by the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA). The directive follows a wave of public interest triggered by a letter from Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, who stepped in to halt the immediate dismissal of several senior UEDCL managers. Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa had reportedly initiated the terminations, prompting the Prime Minister to call for a more…
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The British High Commissioner to Uganda, H.E. Lisa Chesney MBE, has called upon Uganda and the United Kingdom to deepen their shared commitment to climate action, using the celebration of…
Uganda’s mining industry came under the spotlight this week, as local and international stakeholders and players gathered at the Kampala Serena Hotel for the 14th Annual Mineral Wealth Conference. Organized…
When the clock struck midnight on April 1, 2025, Uganda turned a historic page in its power sector. The familiar “Umeme Yaka” brand, etched into the daily lives of millions of Ugandans, vanished from mobile menus overnight. In its place appeared “UEDCL Light”, a symbolic turn of the page that ended Umeme’s two-decade concession and began a state-run era under Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL). For boardrooms and living rooms alike, it wasn’t just a rebrand; it was a test. Would the lights really stay on? At the center of that question is Paul Mwesigwa, UEDCL’s Managing Director. He…
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From Enterprise Agility to Public Accountability On March 31, 2025, Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) stepped into history, reclaiming its full mandate as the distributor of electricity nationwide. This…
The current rope pulling and shoving offer an insight into what is turning out to be an interesting twist in the exit of Umeme. Until a few days ago, the events around the exit of the company that has been part of Uganda’s electricity sub-sector for 20 years, had been largely silent. However, in the weeks to the end of the concession due on 31st March 2025, voices emerged and have become louder, threatening to tear apart a relationship – despite the existence of some knocks here and there – that has been cordial over the 20 year-course of the…
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