MBARARA RDC WARNS UMEME ON RUTHLESSNESS ON SMALL SCALE INDUSTRIES

BY ELLY NYESIGA

IN MBARARA—-

The business companies operating under the Mbarara industrial park have ran to Mbarara RDC over increased power disconnections by power distribution body UMEME.

Over 30 company owners called in the RDC Capt. Martha Asiimwe and UMEME officials to explain why the power bills keep on hiking without providing bills to them and end up disconnecting them.

In the meeting held and the industrial park yesterday, Fred Kimbareba chairman SOMAS industry said they are not sure why UMEME keeps on disconnecting power when they don’t come to read their meters but at the end of the month they bring exaggerated bills to the customers operating in the industrial park operating under the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA).

In his response Tomas Tondo UMEME manager Mbarara said most of the companies are known of defaulting and that he will not be lenient to them but only disconnecting them will be a solution if they can’t pay the bills.

In her remarks the RDC Martha warned power distributing company UMEME not to play around with private companies because they generate a lot of taxes to the government therefore calls upon UMEME to always be lenient to these growing small scale industries.

RDC Martha however appealed to these companies operating under UIA to always clear UMEME bills to avoid inconveniences as electricity is not free in the country.