Africa-Press – Uganda. By July next year, Namutumba District is expected to have electricity, following the completion of a rural electrification project.
With about 200,000 residents, the district has not had electricity since the British colonial era.
Mr Badru Sindani, the chairperson of Kizuba Sub-county, said residents are excited about the project.
“Locals have been using candles and they have never seen electricity poles being erected in their area,” Mr Sindani said on Monday.
Namutumba District has 22 administrative units, including six town councils and 16 sub-counties; however, the sub-counties of Namutumba, Nsinze, Nawaikona and Kizuba – covering 69 Villages – had no access to the national grid.
Last year, the government launched a Shs15.9b rural electrification scheme, covering 10 districts in eastern Uganda. They are Namutumba, Iganga, Jinja, Mayuge, Kamuli, Busia, Bududa, Mbale, Tororo and Butaleja districts.
The project is being funded by credit from China, African Development Bank, and the government. City Harvest Electricals Company Ltd has been contracted to do the work.
Engineer Asuman Bogezi, the project manager of City Harvest Electricals Company Ltd, said the project, which was initially supposed to be completed next month before it was rescheduled to July 2024, is in its advanced stages.
“Soon, Ugandans in Namutumba and Iganga Districts should expect reliable and stable power supply because of the good quality materials supplied for the project in a timely manner,” Engineer Bogezi said, describing this as the biggest project they have executed.
So far, a transformer has been set up in Itonko Village in Namutumba Town Council, which will serve the villages of Itonko, Bulyabwita ‘A’ and ‘B’, Nakyere, Kasimizi, Kasedere ‘A’ and ‘B’.
The company has also erected electricity poles in various villages. Local electricians have started wiring each hose, at Shs250,000, according to residents.
Excited residents
Locals from some of the beneficiary villages, including Bulafa, Kibaale, Lwatama, Kizuba, Kigalama, Kisumu, Buyange, Matyama, Mawungwe, Nakalokwe, and Igerera, said businesses will thrive on completion of the project.
Mr Daniel Kyangwa, a resident of Bulafa Village in Namutumba Sub-county, said he has finished wiring his house and is only waiting for the electricity.
He said: “Already, a metre box has been installed on my premises and power is entering my house anytime. My dream to own a shop that sells cold drinks is coming true with electricity in place.”
Mr Simon Nabongho, a resident of Nakyere Village, said the electricity is going to save him from going to Namutumba Town Council to charge his phones, as he will be doing so from home.
Mr Joseph Matanta, a resident of Kigalama Village, who earns a living by charging phones using solar power, said his customers will be relieved because they have been complaining that solar power does not charge their batteries to full capacity.
He added:“When it rains, the solar panels do not absorb sunlight, but with electricity, my business is going to expand and I will be charging over 100 phones compared to the 20 (phones) I charge everyday using solar power.”
Ms Rita Nabirye, a resident of Nakalokwe Trading Centre in Kizuba Sub-county, plans to use Shs1 million she got from Parish Development Model (PDM), a poverty alleviation programme, to open up a salon.
She added: “My efforts to start a salon have been failing because of lack of electricity; however, I have already wired two rooms and only waiting for electricity and I start working.”
Mr John Owere, a resident of Kizuba Trading Centre in Kizuba Sub-county, said he will open up a metal fabrication workshop after he is connected to the power line.
Mr Owere, who owns a small welding shop in Kizuba Trading Centre, said he is currently spending a lot of money to refill gas cylinders every two weeks.
On top of that, he spends about Shs200,000 on transport from Kizuba to Jinja City to refill the gas cylinders.
Ms Loy Mutesi, a resident of Bulyabwita ‘A’ in Kigalama Sub-county, said medics no longer carry out minor operation procedures at Kigalama Health Centre III because of lack of electricity.
“Services which need electricity have been scrapped from our facility, but with electricity, they are going to be reinstated,” she said.
Local leaders speak out
Mr Samuel Gusango, the chairperson of Namutumba Sub-county, commended the contractor on the steady progress of works..
“With electricity, a number of businesses like grain milling machines, salons, film halls, metal fabrication workshops, furniture workshops, among others, are going to sprout and employ youths. Locals should start thinking of how to make money out of electricity,” he said.
Mr David Mukisa, the chairman of Namutumba District, said the electrification project will spur development and enhance incomes of the locals.
About PROJECT
Beneficiaries
In 2022, the government launched a Shs15.9b rural electrification scheme to connect 10 districts in eastern Uganda.
The project is funded by China, African Development Bank and the government of Uganda.
The districts to be covered are
• Namutumba
•Iganga
•Jinja
• Mayuge
•Kamuli
•Busia
• Bududa
•Mbale
•Tororo
•Butaleja
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