Parliament has asked the Minister of Energy and Mineral development to present a comprehensive statement on persistent power outages in the country.
There has been a persistent power outage in the country with a nationwide blackout experienced on the night of Wednesday, 30 November 2022. Different parts of Kampala experienced blackouts the following day.
Rising on a matter of national importance during plenary on Thursday, 1 December 1 2022, Hon. Geofrey Macho (Ind., Busia Munic.) said that several businesses in his constituency have been affected because of persistent power outages.
“This is a problem to our business community that people who earn from welding are no longer working; ladies and gentlemen with salons are not working, moreover government gave them money for Emyooga,” Macho said.
He said for the past eight months, power has been inconsistent in different parts of the country.
Hon. Asinansi Nyakato (FDC, Hoima City) said the Wednesday countrywide power outage was not the first time it was happening, saying that several traders and manufacturers were complaining of the same.
She called for an explanation of government interventions to permanently solve the problem.
Hon. Denis Nyangweso (Ind., Samia Bugwe Central) said that in his constituency, water is pumped using electricity and because of the load shedding, water access has been affected.
The Minister of General Duties, Justine Kasule Lumumba, apologized for the load shedding and committed to ensuring that the Minister of Energy responds to the matter and gives accountability and a way forward for what has happened.
Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, said the power outages are an issue that has affected the whole country.
She directed that the Minister of Energy should issue a statement next week.