6 December 2007 – Uganda has been promised support to increase access to energy by the Governments of Netherlands and Germany.
"Uganda has plenty of energy but it is faced with a big power capacity gap. The challenge is to tap this energy for development," the Netherlands ambassador, Jeroen Verheul said at a ceremony commissioning solar energy equipment for health centres in Jinja.
"To close the gap, we have chosen to support large-scale energy projects like the Bujagali electrification project, whose completion will generate a lot of energy.
"We shall also support small-scale projects like solar energy,"
In order to address the energy gap, the Germany and Dutch governments would ensure that 10 million people in sub-Saharan Africa would get access to solar energy.
The Dutch government will provide 80% of the project finance, while the district of Jinja will provide 20%. Germany will provide technical expertise.
Energy Minister, Daudi Migereko, reiterated the Government’s commitment to extending modern energy reforms to all Ugandans.