Former Makerere Bursar Joshua Karamagi has for the past three years been serving as the CEO for Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Ltd. And he has done fairly well and his supervisors in the Board are satisfied he deserves a second term.
Yet the biggest uncertainty Karamagi, whose contract is soon expiring, faces is the continued silence and ambivalence of the Minister of Energy Ruth Nankabirwa who has taken too long to give her signal to the Board.
In writing, Karamagi already expressed his interest and readiness to carry on with the job and naturally, Nankabirwa’s continued indecision has caused him untold anguish and mental anxiety.
We only hope and pray that Nankabirwa (and those trying to twist her hand) urgently realizes how critical the electricity transmission component is and ends her ambiguity, so that certainty quickly returns to UETCL whose staffers and managers are currently uncertain as they share into the mental anguish their CEO continues to be gripped with.
There are also claims that there are some power brokers within the state who would like to take advantage of Karamagi’s contract expiry to weigh the prospects of sneaking in their own people now that the UETCL CEO role has clearly become known to be among the juiciest in Kampala
A seasoned engineer and long-serving member of UETCL’s technical leadership, Eng. Matsiko previously served as Acting Deputy Managing Director in 2022, where he oversaw strategic operations including investment planning, maintenance, and project implementation. He has also held the roles of Manager Operations and Maintenance and Principal Protection Engineer.
The Board expressed confidence in Eng. Matsiko’s ability to guide the company through the transition and called upon stakeholders and the public to join them in congratulating him on his new role.
His appointment comes at an important time as UETCL works to strengthen its leadership and continue investing in Uganda’s power transmission network.