Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) President Jimmy Akena has challenged recent remarks by President Yoweri Museveni on Uganda’s electricity generation, arguing that key developments in the energy sector began under UPC leadership.
Akena said statements highlighting Uganda’s electricity generation capacity at the time the National Resistance Movement (NRM) came to power do not fully reflect the history of the country’s energy sector.
According to him, UPC inherited a country facing significant challenges and prioritised restoring production and expanding electricity generation. He said the party developed policy programmes, secured funding, and initiated projects aimed at increasing power generation.
He specifically pointed to the expansion of the Owen Falls power facility, noting that work to increase its capacity from the original installed 150 megawatts to 180 megawatts had already begun before the NRM took power.
Akena argued that the NRM found these initiatives already underway and continued their implementation.
He said it was important to put on record UPC’s contribution to the development of Uganda’s power sector, rejecting suggestions that progress in electricity generation began solely under the current administration.
The UPC president also stated that he is prepared to provide evidence of the party’s role in planning and financing key power generation projects.
In addition, Akena referenced the President’s remarks on funding the Uganda Development Bank, describing it as a crucial institution for industrialisation.
He said UPC will continue presenting what it considers factual accounts of Uganda’s development history while advancing alternative policy proposals on national development.