{"id":122411,"date":"2026-04-19T09:33:03","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T09:33:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency"},"modified":"2026-04-19T10:05:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T10:05:12","slug":"mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency","title":{"rendered":"Mps Push to Reinstate Rural Electrification Agency"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Uganda. <\/strong><\/span><b>Members of Parliament have called on government to reinstate the defunct Rural Electrification Agency (REA), citing slow progress in extending electricity to rural communities since its dissolution in August 2022.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The lawmakers raised the matter during a plenary session chaired by Speaker Anita Annet Among, where concerns were expressed over the performance of the Ministry of Energy in delivering rural electrification following the agency\u2019s rationalisation.<\/p>\n<p>The push for reinstatement emerged during the presentation of a report by the Natural Resources Committee, chaired by Herbert Edmond Ariko, which highlighted operational and funding challenges affecting electricity access programmes.<\/p>\n<p>Lawmakers argued that REA had played a central role in expanding electricity to previously underserved communities and that its absence has slowed connectivity efforts.<\/p>\n<p>Faith Nakut, the Napak District Woman Representative, accused the Energy Ministry of misrepresenting progress in regions such as Karamoja.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe minister is deceiving that during the time of Rural Electrification Agency Karamoja did not have power and that in his tenure he has delivered electricity. That is not true,\u201d she said, adding that engagements with the ministry had not yielded new connections.<\/p>\n<p>Kilak South MP Gilbert Olanya said the rural electrification programme had significantly improved public trust when it was operational.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen the rural electrification programme started, it touched the hearts of the population. People would always ask when electricity would reach them. Can the ministry do the work REA was doing?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Speaker Among also weighed in, noting that while there had been management concerns at REA, electricity access had been more visible during its existence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt the time of Rural Electrification Agency, we did not have these complaints. The complaints were about management, but power was reaching people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Ariko told Parliament that the Ministry of Energy is still grappling with unfunded obligations linked to REA, including arrears and land acquisition for electricity access scale-up projects.<\/p>\n<p>He noted that although government had requested about Shs 300 billion to settle outstanding obligations, only about half had been allocated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf your requirement is to clear two gardens and you are given one, after a year you should show what you have harvested. The issue is not just funding,\u201d Ariko said.<\/p>\n<p>However, State Minister for Energy Sidronius Opolot Okaasai rejected the calls to revive REA, warning that such a move would delay electrification efforts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy the time of Rural Electrification Agency, Karamoja, Gulu and West Nile did not have electricity. To say power was everywhere is not true. What we require as a ministry is funding,\u201d Okaasai said.<\/p>\n<p>He added that reintroducing the agency could set back progress by several years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can assure you, going back to Rural Electrification Agency would mean another five years without distributing electricity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The committee also flagged wider funding gaps affecting the Ministry of Water and Environment, particularly in pipeline extensions and access to clean water. Ariko described the ministry as one of the most politically sensitive sectors, noting that citizens interact most directly with the state through water access, borehole functionality, and piped supply systems.<\/p>\n<p>The debate underscores growing tension between Parliament and the executive over how best to deliver essential infrastructure services, particularly in rural areas where access to electricity and water remains inconsistent.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Uganda<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Uganda. Members of Parliament have called on government to reinstate the defunct Rural Electrification Agency (REA), citing slow progress in extending electricity to rural communities since its dissolution in August 2022. The lawmakers raised the matter during a plenary session chaired by Speaker Anita Annet Among, where concerns were expressed over the performance [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":122410,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-122411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-uganda"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Mps Push to Reinstate Rural Electrification Agency - Uganda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Members of Parliament have called on government to reinstate the defunct Rural Electrification Agency (REA), citing s ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mps Push to Reinstate Rural Electrification Agency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Members of Parliament have called on government to reinstate the defunct Rural Electrification Agency (REA), citing s ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Uganda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-19T09:33:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-19T10:05:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/sm_1776580264.202534.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Mps Push to Reinstate Rural Electrification Agency\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-19T09:33:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-19T10:05:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency\"},\"wordCount\":553,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/sm_1776580264.202534.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"uganda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency\",\"name\":\"Mps Push to Reinstate Rural Electrification Agency - Uganda\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/sm_1776580264.202534.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-19T09:33:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-19T10:05:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"Members of Parliament have called on government to reinstate the defunct Rural Electrification Agency (REA), citing s ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/sm_1776580264.202534.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/sm_1776580264.202534.jpg\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":720,\"caption\":\"Mps Push to Reinstate Rural Electrification Agency\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mps Push to Reinstate Rural Electrification Agency\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/\",\"name\":\"Uganda\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mps Push to Reinstate Rural Electrification Agency - Uganda","description":"Members of Parliament have called on government to reinstate the defunct Rural Electrification Agency (REA), citing s ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mps Push to Reinstate Rural Electrification Agency","og_description":"Members of Parliament have called on government to reinstate the defunct Rural Electrification Agency (REA), citing s ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency","og_site_name":"Uganda","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2026-04-19T09:33:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-19T10:05:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/sm_1776580264.202534.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Mps Push to Reinstate Rural Electrification Agency","datePublished":"2026-04-19T09:33:03+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-19T10:05:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency"},"wordCount":553,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/sm_1776580264.202534.jpg","keywords":["uganda"],"articleSection":["all news","community"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency","name":"Mps Push to Reinstate Rural Electrification Agency - Uganda","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/sm_1776580264.202534.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-19T09:33:03+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-19T10:05:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"Members of Parliament have called on government to reinstate the defunct Rural Electrification Agency (REA), citing s ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/sm_1776580264.202534.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2026\/04\/sm_1776580264.202534.jpg","width":1080,"height":720,"caption":"Mps Push to Reinstate Rural Electrification Agency"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/mps-push-to-reinstate-rural-electrification-agency#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Mps Push to Reinstate Rural Electrification Agency"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/","name":"Uganda","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122411"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":122427,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122411\/revisions\/122427"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}