Members of Parliament have opposed a government move to buy out Umeme.
UMEME was granted a 10-year concession in 2015 and has so far invested 547.5m dollars. However government has not indicated any interest in renewing the concession which expires in 2025.
The Ministry of Energy has however sought a budget of 256.2 billion Shillings as initial installment to start a phased buyout of the energy distributor.
The matter came up when Ministry of Energy officials led by the State Minister for Energy Sidronius Okaasai Opolot appeared before the natural resources committee of parliament.
Irene Batebe, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy explained that the buyout will cost a total of USD 215 million
However, Members of Parliament have recommended that the government should focus on assessing the status of UMEME and its performance instead of looking for money for a buyout.
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