KAMPALA,UGANDA — The Woman Member of Parliament for Bushenyi District, Hon. Katusiime Annet Mugisha, has called on government to urgently connect stalled rural electrification projects across the country and to provide timelines for operationalizing coffee processing factories.
Addressing Parliament during a session broadcast live on UBC on July 15, 2026, Hon. Katusiime congratulated the Speaker and thanked His Excellency the President for the State of the Nation Address, noting his focus on socio-economic transformation.
“His Excellency the President has consistently talked about the key critical enablers of wealth creation, which include roads, water, electricity, markets, hotels and related services. But in his State of the Nation Address he emphasized and prioritized electricity,” she said.
Hon. Katusiime acknowledged government progress in power generation, which has grown from 60 megawatts in 1986 to 2,098 megawatts today, with a target of 50,000 megawatts. “This gives hope that more Ugandans will continue to access electricity,” she noted.
However, she expressed frustration over rural electrification projects completed by the Rural Electrification Agency more than 10 years ago but never connected. The projects were later handed over to the Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited.
In Bushenyi District alone, about seven sub-counties are affected. “People are agitated. They are threatening to vandalize the electric poles because year after year they see the poles standing but they are still in darkness,” Hon. Katusiime said.
She urged the line Minister to appear before Parliament and “explain comprehensively and give us timelines on when these projects will be connected to the national grid.”
“People are tired of seeing poles without electricity,” she emphasized.
The WMP also raised concern about coffee processing factories constructed by communities to promote value addition. She noted that to date, the factories remain non-operational due to lack of electricity.
Hon. Katusiime’s remarks come as government pushes job and wealth creation as central pillars of national development, with electricity identified as a key driver.
By Moses Bwengye:
_Panadol ya Banya Bushenyi_
