Uganda’s electric power distributor Umeme Limited has secured a shs 258 billion loan to find a lasting solution to constant power outages in Najjera and the areas surrounding.
The mostly residential areas in the power grid region of Najjera have over the past months attracted constant social media complaints by residents over unavailability of power.
The areas include Kiwatule, Kungu, Naalya, Buwate, Kyanja, Kisasi and Ntinda. The outages have been so often that social media users have predicted daily posts by Umeme about outages and have not been disappointed even once.
The power company attributes the outages to the rains that have showered Kampala all year through and the road expansions on the Kampala Northern bypass, the Ntinda-Nakawa connect among other road developments in the area.
While addressing the press yesterday, Umeme Managing Director Selestino Babungi committed the acquired loan to settling the outage problem in those areas once and for all.
“The reason there are constant power outages in the areas supplied by the Ntinda substation is because they have experienced rapid growth in a short time.” Babungi said.
“In 2005 this place was mostly residential houses, but if you go there now, they are all high rising buildings.” He added.
The MD emphasized that fixing the power reliability in Najjera, Kiwatule as well as Mukono, Gayaza and Gulu will be their second priority for the loan. The first priority is connecting all the 25 industrial parks built in different parts of the country.
“In Naalya, the estate that was set up for low-income housing now has hundreds of flats. That area requires a lot of investments now, and I am glad we have completed this (loan) transaction.” Babungi said.
