By CSBAG Communications team
In a bid to enhance advocacy for financing renewable various policy matters, Civil society organizations under the championship of Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG) have engaged Makerere University Business School (MUBS) students to discuss how financing renewable energy can be boosted through policy influence and various activities aimed at transitioning to climate-smart energy.
The Professors at MUBS and students expressed gratitude to CSBAG’s involvement which they say promotes inclusiveness and participative policy formulation.
The Principal MUBS Prof. Muhwezi applauded CSOs for involving universities & academia in applied research to get the data for policymakers.
“I appreciated the CSOs for not ignoring the masses and also involving universities & academia in applied research to get the data for policymakers” he said
The Executive Director CSBAG Julius Mukunda, while appreciating the support from partners like OXFAM Uganda and MUBS management urged the government to look into the issue of high taxes on renewable energy equipment and enhanced government involvement in the implementation of policies on it.
“The capacity of the government to implement renewable energy projects is very limited. They have ideas but executing them is a very big challenge. Charcoal demand is at 2 million tons per year, import taxes on renewable energy equipment are high and this makes them expensive. No wonder, people can’t afford” he said
The ED added that the new front now has been drawn to collaborate with the academia to advance our advocacy work, in order to groom a cadre of people who can champion the cause.
According to Dr. Benard Wabukala, Lecturer Department of Energy Sciences, 33% of all Ugandans are energy-poor, and the statistics highly affect many people with gender energy constraints.
The public dialogue on leveraging effective renewable energy financing was hosted by MUBS and organized by CSBAG with support from OXFAM Uganda aimed at also framing a policy paper for further engagement.
Dr. Nicholas Mukisa (PhD) Department Coordinator, National Renewable Energy Platform, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development said “We need to assess the effectiveness of subsidies in the energy sector to guide government policy decisions. They can only be encouraged if directed to developing local solutions rather than to import solar”
During the dialogue, there was a panel discussion on assessing the progress made in increasing access to affordable, sustainable, and clean energy in Uganda and how Uganda achieves sustainable financing for renewable energy.
