chance that the targeted household connectivity for
the Financial Year 2019/2020 will unlikely be met in a
country where the access rate to electricity is just 23%.
5 AREAS OF FURTHER RESEARCH
The possible areas for further research should address
the impact of GETFiT Program supported by donors
[NORFUND, KfW, EU, DFID and the long run effect
of inefficient utilization of loan capital investment on
energy projects as well as the increased participation
of DFIs and export credit organizations (KfW, WB,
ATI, China Exim Bank, AFD, ADB, PTA Bank), large
foreign investment funding requirements; Public vs.
private interest. Also, there are various government
projects in energy (ministerial energy statements). The
Government of Uganda has invested in Power Factor
Correction (PFC) equipment to reduce energy wastage
with the hope that other industry operators would adapt
accordingly. There is need to find out: (i) how far has
the government pilot project gone to enhance efficiency of targeted industries; (ii) how far have the other
neighborhood industries taken up the PFC equipment
(technology diffusion); and (iii) what factors may be
promoting or otherwise constraining the adoption of
PFC equipment.
5.1 Limitations of the research
Some of the major challenges encountered during the
study were the reluctance of some government agencies to share the requested data and information while
others shied off from the key informant interviews.
This however did not affect the study in either way as
there were several options and sources of information.
6 CONCLUDING REMARKS
6.1 Summary of findings
The study examined the current state of the Renewable Energy Policy and discussed the enablers and
drawbacks to its implementation in Uganda and suggests policy interventions to address the identified
drawbacks.
Considering that Uganda is endowed with huge
potential of renewable and non-renewable energy
resources, the country could meet all the citizens’
energy needs if these resources, especially renewable
energy, were well developed. This paper identified
three main factors, which are supportive legal and
policy instruments, growth in local organizational
capacity and increased research effort, as main motivations for the renewable energy implementation and
development in Uganda.
However, we found that issues such as limited
resources, prohibitive costs of investment and operation, bureaucracy and overlapping roles of the government agencies, inadequate human capacity and
training, and a weak private sector, are some of the
main obstacles to attainment of the REP targets and
limit its success.
6.2 Policy suggestions
Based on the findings from this review paper, the
following policies and actions are recommended:
The concerned authorities should work towards
growing the demand for electricity by domestic customers through reduction of the electricity tariff so
that power is made more affordable, thereby justifying consumer choice for electricity vis-a-vis the other
dirty sources.
Higher Education Institutions need to consolidate their influence on policy formulation through
enhanced capacity in the development of models and
simulations, to capture all the kinds of risks in the
industry which possess the potential to diminish the
sustainability of policy implementation. The modeling and simulation should be able to inform policy
actors on the nature of shocks that the industrial sector
may guard against hence being able to take timely and
appropriate preventive or remedial action.
As critical large-scale consumers of electricity, the
Government should further incentivize local manufacturing in order to enhance their consumption. This
could be done through deliberately promoting the
assembling of essential electrical components like
cables, conductors, transformers, and switch gear to
reduce supply chain interruptions. The initiative of
promoting the Buy Uganda Build Uganda (BUBU)
should be extended to companies manufacturing
renewable energy equipment.
Whereas the Rural Electrification Programme had
registered good performance, and the number of
individuals accessing the electricity grid had been
increased, projects that were due for funding had not
yet been commenced, partly on account of delays in
procurement and failure to meet effectiveness conditions. The government therefore ought to earnestly
review its procurement laws and make the process
efficient but free of deficiencies.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Bosco Amerit, Kassim Alinda and Julius Opiso
acknowledge the PhD scholarship support by Makerere University Business School (MUBS) Kampala Uganda/Norwegian University of Life Sciences
(NMBU) Ås Norway Collaborative project titled
‘Capacity Building in Education and Research for
Economic Governance in Uganda’, which is funded by
the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation
(Norad) through Norwegian Programme for Capacity
Development in Higher Education and Research for
Development (NORHED) program.
REFERENCES
Ahlborg, H., & Hammar, L. (2014). Drivers and barriers to
rural electrification in Tanzania and Mozambique–Gridextension, off-grid, and renewable energy technologies.
Renewable Energy, 61, 117–124.
223
the Financial Year 2019/2020 will unlikely be met in a
country where the access rate to electricity is just 23%.
5 AREAS OF FURTHER RESEARCH
The possible areas for further research should address
the impact of GETFiT Program supported by donors
[NORFUND, KfW, EU, DFID and the long run effect
of inefficient utilization of loan capital investment on
energy projects as well as the increased participation
of DFIs and export credit organizations (KfW, WB,
ATI, China Exim Bank, AFD, ADB, PTA Bank), large
foreign investment funding requirements; Public vs.
private interest. Also, there are various government
projects in energy (ministerial energy statements). The
Government of Uganda has invested in Power Factor
Correction (PFC) equipment to reduce energy wastage
with the hope that other industry operators would adapt
accordingly. There is need to find out: (i) how far has
the government pilot project gone to enhance efficiency of targeted industries; (ii) how far have the other
neighborhood industries taken up the PFC equipment
(technology diffusion); and (iii) what factors may be
promoting or otherwise constraining the adoption of
PFC equipment.
5.1 Limitations of the research
Some of the major challenges encountered during the
study were the reluctance of some government agencies to share the requested data and information while
others shied off from the key informant interviews.
This however did not affect the study in either way as
there were several options and sources of information.
6 CONCLUDING REMARKS
6.1 Summary of findings
The study examined the current state of the Renewable Energy Policy and discussed the enablers and
drawbacks to its implementation in Uganda and suggests policy interventions to address the identified
drawbacks.
Considering that Uganda is endowed with huge
potential of renewable and non-renewable energy
resources, the country could meet all the citizens’
energy needs if these resources, especially renewable
energy, were well developed. This paper identified
three main factors, which are supportive legal and
policy instruments, growth in local organizational
capacity and increased research effort, as main motivations for the renewable energy implementation and
development in Uganda.
However, we found that issues such as limited
resources, prohibitive costs of investment and operation, bureaucracy and overlapping roles of the government agencies, inadequate human capacity and
training, and a weak private sector, are some of the
main obstacles to attainment of the REP targets and
limit its success.
6.2 Policy suggestions
Based on the findings from this review paper, the
following policies and actions are recommended:
The concerned authorities should work towards
growing the demand for electricity by domestic customers through reduction of the electricity tariff so
that power is made more affordable, thereby justifying consumer choice for electricity vis-a-vis the other
dirty sources.
Higher Education Institutions need to consolidate their influence on policy formulation through
enhanced capacity in the development of models and
simulations, to capture all the kinds of risks in the
industry which possess the potential to diminish the
sustainability of policy implementation. The modeling and simulation should be able to inform policy
actors on the nature of shocks that the industrial sector
may guard against hence being able to take timely and
appropriate preventive or remedial action.
As critical large-scale consumers of electricity, the
Government should further incentivize local manufacturing in order to enhance their consumption. This
could be done through deliberately promoting the
assembling of essential electrical components like
cables, conductors, transformers, and switch gear to
reduce supply chain interruptions. The initiative of
promoting the Buy Uganda Build Uganda (BUBU)
should be extended to companies manufacturing
renewable energy equipment.
Whereas the Rural Electrification Programme had
registered good performance, and the number of
individuals accessing the electricity grid had been
increased, projects that were due for funding had not
yet been commenced, partly on account of delays in
procurement and failure to meet effectiveness conditions. The government therefore ought to earnestly
review its procurement laws and make the process
efficient but free of deficiencies.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Bosco Amerit, Kassim Alinda and Julius Opiso
acknowledge the PhD scholarship support by Makerere University Business School (MUBS) Kampala Uganda/Norwegian University of Life Sciences
(NMBU) Ås Norway Collaborative project titled
‘Capacity Building in Education and Research for
Economic Governance in Uganda’, which is funded by
the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation
(Norad) through Norwegian Programme for Capacity
Development in Higher Education and Research for
Development (NORHED) program.
REFERENCES
Ahlborg, H., & Hammar, L. (2014). Drivers and barriers to
rural electrification in Tanzania and Mozambique–Gridextension, off-grid, and renewable energy technologies.
Renewable Energy, 61, 117–124.
223