Masindi District | The Minister for Local Government, Hon. Barugahara Balaam Ateenyi, has commissioned electricity connection to Kisarabwire Village in Masindi District, bringing power to the community for the first time.
For years, Kisarabwire village, like many villages in Bunyoro, has been off-grid, relying on kerosene lamps, firewood and expensive solar for lighting and small businesses. The arrival of electricity is expected to transform livelihoods.
Speaking during the commissioning, Hon. Balaam said the project is in line with President Yoweri Museveni’s directive to extend electricity to every parish as a driver of wealth creation and industrialization.
“Electricity is not just light, it is money. With power, our mothers can start salons, our youth can start welding workshops, maize mills, and our children can read at night,” he told residents.
The connection is part of the Government’s Electricity Access Scale-up Project (EASP) implemented by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development and UEDCL, which has slashed the connection cost to make power affordable and eliminate extortion by middlemen.
Hon. Balaam, who is currently conducting the nationwide anti-corruption and service delivery monitoring tour dubbed “Expose the Corrupt”, used the occasion to warn officials against vandalism and illegal power connections.
He urged the community to protect the infrastructure and use electricity productively to fight poverty under the Parish Development Model (PDM), Emyooga and other government wealth creation programs.
Residents of Kisarabwire, led by local council leaders, thanked the government and the Minister, saying power will boost security, allow the local health centre and school to offer better services, and attract investment.
Masindi District is one of the districts in Bunyoro sub-region benefiting from aggressive rural electrification after years of low coverage. According to the Ministry of Energy, national electricity access now stands at about 60% including solar, with a target of universal access by 2030.
The commissioning in Kisarabwire comes just days after the Minister ordered investigations and interdictions of several Masindi Municipal and District officials over alleged mismanagement of funds meant for electrification of health centres and other projects.
