Lawmakers have said that corruption and connivance are to blame for the shutdown of Isimba hydropower plant. 

The Members of Parliament were responding to the statement by the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Ruth Nankabirwa on the emergency shutdown of the plant.

The 183 megawatts Isimba Hydropower power plant in Kayunga district experienced a shut down on Monday, 8th August 2022. 

Nankabirwa told the MPs that the plant flooded because of maintenance works. 

“One of the generating units was out of use to allow the contractor to undertake routine maintenance. At the time of the incident, the scheduled works included installation and testing of equipment supplied by the contractor for safe access to the powerhouse,” said Nankabirwa. 

She said that as the operations and maintenance team at the Uganda Electricity Generation Company (UEGCL) was attempting to create a safe working environment within the powerhouse working area, a malfunction occurred, causing flow of water into the powerhouse. 

“Consequently, dam safety procedures were automatically triggered to ensure the safety of staff, protection of equipment and production and prevention of potential dam failure. Investigations are underway to establish the cause of this incident,” Nankabirwa said. 

She reassured MPs that appropriate measures are being undertaken to restore power production within three weeks. 

“In these three weeks, we have decided to use the manual mode; the plant has two systems, automated and manual. Within three weeks, we will begin the generation but not in full capacity, full capacity will start in six weeks,” she said. 

The Minister also clarified that the country’s installed power generation capacity is 1378.1 megawatts, which indicates excess generation relative to the country’s peak system demand of 900 megawatts, including 50 megawatts of power export to Kenya. 

“It is important to note that without major breakdowns on the system like loss of a major generation facility as we have experienced with Isimba Hydropower plant, Uganda’s current total generation capacity is sufficient to meet our current electricity demands,” she said. 

Nankabirwa added that power from some of the plants is not fully evacuated due to lack of transmission and distribution infrastructure. 

Bugabula County South MP, Maurice Kibalya however asked the Minister to take keen interest in the actual cause of the total shutdown, saying that it was intentional. 

“The issue that happened was not flooding; the issue was technical and there are chances that they are intentional. Pick interest in the cost of thermal after shutdown of Isimba, you will see. Some of these things are not by accident and mistake,” said Kibalya.

Abigaba Cuthbert (NRM, Kibale County) said that by generating more than what the country consumes, the country is investing much money and yet it cannot be consumed. 
“In engineering studies, it means that our engineers are not doing us a good job, so there is a problem. That is why I want to side with my brother Kibalya that they are either in some kind of sabotage or possibly the ministry has run out of competent engineers to manage the system,” he said. 

Kigorobya County MP, David Karubanga said that the minister fell short of divulging the actual cause of the total shutdown. 
“When there is a flood, it is either failure on power supply and watering pumps or leakages overpowering the dewatering system. I also join other colleagues who want to say that construction of power dams has been a big problem,” he said. 

Agnes Atim Apea (NRM, Amolatar district) said the shutdown shows ineffectiveness and poor planning of electricity generation. 
“If you know the capacity of electricity generation and one plant shuts down, I do not see how it affects the whole system. Every year we appropriate more than Shs100 billion for energy, how do you start generating what you know you cannot evacuate. It is either connivance or corruption,” she said. 

Aringa South County MP, Yorke Alioni Odria questioned why the country is generating power in excess and yet some parts of the country like West Nile have shortage of power supply. 
“ The minister should come out clearly on this. She needs to tell Parliament the way forward; we are not going to get loans and the money is not utilised. The country is losing. It is not a joke, this country is going down because people are not sincere,” he said. 

Lillian Aber (NRM, Kitgum District) also asked the minister to pay close attention to contractors, saying that most of them do not deliver. 

“The minister should take keen interest and ensure that contracts are given to people who deliver. We have had the issue of installation of transformer and it has taken four years. Suppliers let us down in terms of quality,” she said. 

Kimaanya-Kabonera Division MP, Abed Bwanaki called for a thorough investigation into the energy sector. 

“81 percent of Ugandans are not on the electricity grid yet power is the driver of the economy but people cannot access power,” he said. 

The Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa referred the matter to the Committee on Natural Resources and gave a three weeks’ ultimatum for presentation of the report. 

“Please ensure that you do not interfere with ongoing repair works; we do not want Parliament to be used as an excuse. This is a dam we commissioned not more than two years ago and we know the rain patterns. How can we say we never foresaw such a situation, can we remedy it?” he said.

He also urged the Minister to address the mismatch between consumable capacity, installed capacity and generation capacity. 

“We are misled as a country and especially when it comes to paying dimmable energy costs in excess of hundreds of billions every financial year. Because why do you sign an agreement, you start paying and you do not plan for evacuating that power. That is poor planning,” he said.  

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The Kingfisher project affected persons have received Buhuka Gravity flow scheme rehabilitation project, is a community water and sanitation project.

The project is aimed at providing safe and clean water to the five villages of over 13,000 residents in Buhuka flats which is the host community for the Kingfisher Development area where CNOOC Uganda Limited operates.

The project was started in February 2022 and the rehabilitation contract was awarded to SAMKA, a fully Ugandan company. Substantial completion of the project was achieved on 6th July 2022. This project included the making a detailed design of a new distribution network that incorporates some of the old scheme.

This distribution network is made up of 14km of HDPE pipes that supply water to Nsunzu A, Nsunzu B, Kyakapere, Nsonga A, and Nsonga B. The other part of the design includes a water treatment plant, a power/chemical house and the water treatment system which includes the intake unit, aerator tank, coagulator tank, sedimentation tank, sand filter and the clear water tank that is treated using chlorine to make it safe and then pumped off for distribution to the stand taps constructed in the villages and the community market water supply system.

The water is abstracted from river Masika for which the National Environment Management Authority granted a license for abstraction of 180m3 an equivalent of 9000 twenty liter jerry cans of water per day for treatment and supply to the community. For sustainability and ease of making the project fully community run and owned in future, the electronic equipment of the facility are run on renewable energy which is solar that is abundant in the area. The facility has an array of 38 solar panels.

Enoth Tukamushaba the project engineer described the project as a very big contribution to the community that will improve the livelihoods of the user community; he also said that three local residents from Kyakapere, Nsunzu and Nsonga have been trained in operation and maintenance of the facilities. This is to ensure that even when the SAMKA engineers handover and leave the project to the community, the community can fully and ably run it.

Residents that have used the water from the new system have described the water as a very considerable improvement from previous water sources that were unreliable and whose water safety was not guaranteed. They are happy to be able to have clean water taps near their homes.

The LCI chairman of Nsonga A village, Babihemaiso Dismus expressed the same views as the community saying that the livelihoods of the community members has greatly benefitted from the project. They stressed the benefit of prevention of various water borne diseases that had pledged the villages in Buhuka flats like typhoid, dysentery and other skin diseases. This therefore makes the community better.

 “We have set up water user committees that will be in charge of monitoring the water distribution system and maintenance of good working conditions of the taps in the different villages.”

Mr. Chen Zhuobiao, President, CNOOC Uganda Limited said that CNOOC Uganda Limited will remain a dependable partner in improving the livelihoods of the host communities and this is a continuation of the different projects undertaken by CNOOC Uganda Limited in that regard.

He urged the community to take good care of the facilities to ensure that the project runs for many years to come. He applauded the local leaders that have rendered support for the different projects aimed at improving the standards of living of the area and for the continued support to CNOOC Uganda Limited in its operations.

He reaffirmed CNOOC Uganda Limited’s commitment to being a good neighbor and always striving to create Win-Win relationships with the local community. Mr. Chen concluded his speech saying that “CNOOC Uganda Limited is committed to the efficient and effective development of the Kingfisher Development Area in a healthy, safe, environmentally friendly and sustainable manner.”

Mr. Peter Banura LCV Kikuube District commended CNOOC Uganda Limited for always paying attention to the community needs and lending a hand, especially in things that improve the wellbeing of the community.

Banura lauded CNOOC Uganda Limited for strictly following the laws of the country and international best practices while implementing the project.

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Parents in north-eastern Uganda are sending toddlers of pre-school age to school with their siblings to share their free school meal as increasing numbers of families have no food at home, according to Save the Children.

More than 40 per cent of people are now going hungry in Karamoja region, one of Uganda’s poorest and most marginalized regions that are predominantly a pastoralist community, the child rights organisation said.

Karamoja, that borders Kenya and South Sudan, is reeling from a combination of extreme weather, disease and armed gang attacks which have driven more than half a million people to crisis levels of hunger.

Last year communities in Karamoja were hit by floods and landslides. This year’s rainy season, between March and June, was likely the driest on record since 1981 with this harsh drought  decimating crops and livestock and causing water shortages.

The situation in the rural north eastern region has deteriorated in recent years. In June 2020, 27 per cent of households experienced food shortages which increased to 30 per cent in April 2021, and reached 41 per cent in April this year, with the crisis worsened by the war in Ukraine driving up food prices.

Save the Children said more than 91,600 children and 9,500 pregnant or breastfeeding women in Karamoja are suffering from acute malnutrition and need urgent treatment.

Across the Horn of Africa, four failed rainy seasons have led to the worst drought in 40 years, leaving more than 18.6 million people facing an alarming hunger and malnutrition crisis which is extending across the East Africa region to Uganda, South Sudan and Sudan.

Natalina, 10, who goes to a community school supported by Save the Children in Karamoja, walks there with her four-year-old and two-year-old sisters, the youngest strapped to her back. She said: “Every day, I come to school with two of my siblings. One is four years old while the other is two years old.

“I share my food with my two siblings because they’re not yet old enough to be in school, so I’m the only one who receives food.”

Emmanuel works as a teacher at another school supported by Save the Children in Moroto, Karamoja. He said: “When families do not have food and younger children follow their siblings to school, it not only reduces concentration but also gives older siblings the added burden of caring for children instead of studying.”

Save the Children’s Country Director in Uganda, Strinic Dragana, said: “The fact that families are sending their pre-school children to class with their siblings just so they can eat is a major cause for concern. We know that in some schools, there are up to 200 siblings tagging along to get a meal.

“We’re doing what we can with the little resources available but more needs to be done, especially now that schools have broken up and children have been sent home for August holidays with no food.

“Karamoja reflects a bigger global crisis. The next generation is bearing the brunt of a global hunger crisis and climate emergency that it did not contribute to. We’re calling on the government and the international community to make more funds available to support families and children suffering from this hunger crisis in northern Uganda.”

The climate crisis is making extreme weather events such as drought and flooding more frequent and severe, Save the Children said. The child rights organisation’s research with Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Born into the Climate Crisis, shows that children born in 2020 will face 2.6 times as many droughts and 2.8 times as many floods throughout their lifetimes as those born 60 years ago.

Save the Children is providing food assistance to over 40 schools in Karamoja and cash vouchers worth Shs 150,000 (US$40) every month to families with extremely malnourished children to buy food. But for many families sending young children to school with their older siblings is the only way to ensure the children have at least a meal day.

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