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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Electricity is the invisible architecture upon which modern societies are built. It powers industry, sustains healthcare systems, enables education, fuels technological advancement, and underwrites national competitiveness. For Uganda, aspiring toward industrialization, accelerated urbanization, and deeper regional integration, reliable, affordable, and sustainable electricity is no longer optional, it is strategic, foundational, and existential. Yet, despite its centrality to national development, Uganda’s electricity sector has, for more than two decades, been defined less by cohesion than by contention. Public dissatisfaction has persisted. Institutions have traded accusations. Operators have blamed regulators; regulators have faulted operators; policymakers have distanced themselves from outcomes. Since the…
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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 long-running standoff between Umeme and the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) over a UGX 594 billion debt has once again thrown Uganda’s power sector into turmoil, exposing deep financial fissures in the country’s electricity value chain. In an exclusive response to the CEO East Africa Magazine, UETCL maintains that the UGX 593.5 billion in question represents verified receivables accumulated from energy sales to Umeme under the Power Sales Agreement (PSA), which governed the purchase and distribution of electricity throughout the company’s 20-year concession. According to the transmission utility, the figure audited and confirmed by the Office of the…
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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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In a bold move to deepen financial inclusion across Uganda, Wendi, a digital mobile wallet developed by PostBank Uganda which has embarked on a journey to rebrand to Pearl Bank,…
Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL), which has managed the country’s electricity distribution assets for 53 days since Umeme’s exit, has secured a USD 25 million (UGX 91 billion) loan…
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…
As Uganda Electricity Distribution Company (UEDCL) formally takes over the power distribution function, it will be months or even years before Ugandans move on from the days of Umeme. Yes, it will be long, or it might never happen again for Umeme to be part of Uganda’s electricity sub-sector, for which it had been part of for at least 20 years. In 2022, government decided not to renew Umeme’s concession at the natural end of the 20-year agreement under which the power distributor managed assets leased from UEDCL. Thus, the assets on Monday, formally reverted to UEDCL, which has over…
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