Fredrick Masiga
10 November 2009
column
When I read that Eng. Hilary Onek - Energy minister - would seek the counsel of President Museveni over the 'indiscipline' of his Permanent Secretary Fredrick Kabagambe-Kaliisa, I thought immediately that the 'oil fever' had taken over his thought process. But I will return to this point later.
Onek is hardly 10 months in office but fights in the Energy ministry started as soon as it was rumoured that he was being proposed for the portfolio. And since his ascendance, there have been countless rumours, back stabbing and head-on accusations. Perhaps that's the difference between him and his predecessor. He is a light-footed 'trouble maker' where everyone minds his own grocery.
By any measure Onek's proposal to cut down power tariffs and stop the hemorrhaging of taxpayers' resources within the energy sector is welcome and must be supported by right thinking Ugandans. Ordinary folks who consume electricity do not know the extent to which they are being fleeced, and at a time when there is an oil rush with parties waving treasury-bursting tenders and eager to sign off concessions at a 'small fee' it is important that a keen eye is kept on what Uganda will walk away with.
Onek has proposed a review of the Umeme concession agreement with a view to delete what he sees as unfair clauses in the agreement that have caused tariffs hikes and financial loss to the country - isn't that just fair for all Ugandans? Unfortunately it turns out he does not seem to trust anyone below him. So, he constitutes a commission of inquiry to investigate Umeme - the electricity distributor. The commission, it is said, was actually picked for him by President Museveni because as a hydrologist Onek on his own would know better than to pick a 'layman' as the chairman of such a highly technical inquiry.
So, mistake number one; the composition of the commission lacked the sophistication required by the job it was meant to perform. Mistake number two; the investigations focused on a finished product and left out generation and transmission processes. The concession agreements for the three arms of the sector are very interrelated, it would only be wise to overhaul the whole sector instead of doing what is now being perceived as a 'witch hunt' on Umeme.
Salim Saleh's team found out that Shs300 billion had gone missing and Onek is blood thirsty to get somebody account for it. However, he is perhaps oblivious of the fact that his ministry is the most sought after because it has the most lucrative deals available in government. The political interest in the energy sector is only second to the ministry of Defense. That only means that there is not a pin that will drop in the hallway of those two without the knowledge of highest authority in the land.
This brings me to my first paragraph. The sight of Onek rushing away to Museveni with a running nose over Umeme and other issues in the ministry draws only sympathy for a man on trial.
We -the taxpayers - wait with nostalgic expectation that one day, just one day power tariffs will reduce. That however is being overtaken by global events. The current trends in the global energy industry indicate that power will continue to be expensive for a long time to come - not even when Bujagali and Karuma are completed. As a confessed environmentalist, Onek should concentrate on preaching renewable energy sources and leave groceries to those who have both ambition and might to fight for them. Onek only has ambition.
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