Spaces
We organise discussion forums, two to three hour sessions, in conjunction with breakfasts, lunches and dinners, during which we invite select Ugandans to participate in dialogue for their nation. For each of the discussion forums that we organise, we mobilise an ensemble of thinkers originating from a wide range of Uganda’s geographical and ideological communities to function as provocateurs, discussants, rapporteurs, moderators, researchers, amongst others.
Electricity Baraza
In line with our sole mission to spur thinking spaces, we host the Kigo Thinkers' Electricity Baraza to meet and discuss how the power sector can be reformed to ensure better service delivery.
The 2nd Kigo Thinkers Second Electricity Baraza
Prior to the reforms in the power sector industry, there was a monopoly run by a single government owned utility company handling generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in Uganda.
In 2001, this single utility company Uganda Electricity Board (UEB) was unbundled into three successor companies namely: Uganda Electricity Generation Company (UEGCL), Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Ltd (UETCL) and Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (UEDCL) including UMEME Ltd and other smaller distributers. The Electricity Authority (ERA) was enacted later to regulate the sector.
The electricity service in Uganda has changed and improved; therefore, rethinking the power sector reforms comes at a crucial time. The principles that guided policymakers and stakeholders in the 1990s remain strong today. Financial sustainability and good institutional governance in the power sector are still just as critical, even as the scope of private sector participation is increasing, and technological disruptions and the benefits of competition energise the sector. Hence it is sensible that the reforms are appraised and perhaps updated.
In line with Kigo Thinkers’ sole mission to spur thinking spaces in Uganda, we initiated and conducted a snap-poll survey during the month of November 2021. This survey offered the public a chance to share their frame of preference shaped by context, driven by outcomes, and informed by alternatives, as to whether RE-MERGING THE CURRENT ELECTRICITY BODIES is an appropriate reform the government should undertake.
The snap-poll survey targeted 250 high net-worth individuals who were likely to be high end users of electricity both domestically and in the corporate world. The survey managed to collect information electronically from 161 individuals (64.4 percent response rate).