By Wetondo Denis Julius
MBALE CITY
Minister for Energy and Minerals Development, Hon Ruth Nankabirwe on the weekend expressed her happiness with the ongoing works at Mbale Industrial Park.
The Park is located in the Mbale City, eastern part of Uganda covering an area of 2.51 square kilometers, 220 kilometers away from Kampala, the capital of Uganda, and 65 kilometers from the Kenyan border.
On her visit to the industrial park and Namekara mining site located in Butiru Town Council in Manafwa district, the Minister praised the works which are ongoing at the Park and cautioned them to speed up and consume power since their complaint of power has been sorted.
The Minister also promised to work on the continuous hiking of electricity tariffs in Uganda.
“When we complete Karuma dam and Nalubale dam which are on construction at the moment, we shall be able to access power at a very cheap price,” the Minister said.
She also urged the community to accept and give out land for transfer of the power lines.
Idea Kufaha Kuramba, the General Manager Namekara Mining Site complained of unstable power which is soon leading to their closure.
“We have challenges but power is the leading one at Namekera mining site,” says the general manager.
He says their power is on and off which has led them to depend more on fuel yet it is very expensive.
He revealed that their mineral is for export only and it’s exported to the United Arab Emirates which has also delayed their payments and the processing period.
He adds that the government of Uganda through ministry of energy and mineral development should remove the 10% offer given to the buyers of the minerals because they are now working under loses.
The Minister promised to work on their complaints as soon as she gets back to her office.
