UMEME Power users in Kisoro District have decried the persistent power outages in
the district for the last three months, which they say has destabilized
their businesses.
They claim that they receive power, two or three hours a day and sometimes they spend the whole day without power. The most affected are small shop owners, stationary, welders and saloons among others.
Due to the power outages, most businesses are forced to run on generators, which they say is costly.
Irene Bishimana and Paul Alex Nsabiyumva, who both operate shops in Kisoro town, said that for the past three months, they have not sold cold drinks due to the outages yet they are legal customers who are paying for bills at every end of month.
Rogers Habasa, a saloon operator at Kyanika border said that his business
purely depends on power and since September, he is struggling to provide
for his family.
The Kisoro Municipal Mayor, Richard Ndyana faults UMEME for failing to
address the power outages despite several complaints. He said that they
are considering petitioning President Museveni since the UMEME officials
have failed to provide power to them.
Efforts to get a comment from the Kisoro branch UMEME manager, Wathum Celestine, were futile as he could not pick our repeated calls. Umeme Spokesperson, Stephen Illungole, told our reporter on the phone that he will comment after communicating with UMEME officials in Kisoro district.
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