Kampala — POWER SUPPLY has been turned off at the Police Headquarters in Kampala. Umeme, the new electricity distribution concern, switched the lights off at the Kibuli complex, and at seven other police stations in the city as they await payment of accumulated bills.

The Police owes Umeme sh2.9b in unpaid bills. The bills have accumulated over one year. Needless to say, Umeme does serve a notice when bills are delivered to consumers that failure to pay within a stipulated period would lead to power being

cut off.

This is what has happened, though it took the utilities company one year. Umeme is under pressure from consumers to deliver steady, uninterrupted supplies.

This has not been possible for a long time due to limited generation, with demand outstripping supply, under-capitalisation, poor infrastructure, and poor management practices of the old electricity set-up. When a consortium of foreign investors took over a year ago, they pledged to improve services.

This would call for new investment in equipment, expanding the national grid, improving public relations, and rationalising personnel management.

Yet all this would not be possible if debt is not collected efficiently. Three years ago, Uganda Electricity Board run an exercise to eliminate illegal connections on its grid, which was fairly successful. Illegal consumption did reduce, but while Umeme must remain vigilant, it also has to look a t other ways of improving efficiencies. Debt collection is an obvious one.

The disconnection should serve as notice to other consumers, both private and public. There is a culture in which government departments take debt payments for granted, especially if the bills are owed to other public institutions. This practice simply feeds into the cycle of inefficiency, perpetuating an unhealthy attitude, and bankrupting other

organisations.

It is also an opportunity for the Police to follow up their subventions from the Government more aggressively. Police bosses have often complained about poor funding. Now they have strong grounds to lobby from.