REPORT BOMBSHELL! UETCL in Freefall as Losses Hit Sh293bn, Projects Stall & Power Grid Vandalism Rages – Is CEO Matsiko the Man for The Job?
A storm is raging at Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited and it is no ordinary drizzle. The December 2025 Auditor General’s report has ripped through the power transmitter’s books and operations, exposing a company battered by ballooning losses, idle assets, vandalized infrastructure, procurement delays and a leadership controversy that refuses to die down.
At the center of the turbulence stands Eng. Richard Matsiko, confirmed this year as the substantive Chief Executive Officer after serving in acting capacity. He replaced Joshua Karamagi who resigned in 2025. But even as he settles into the big chair, uncomfortable questions are being asked. Is he competent enough to steer the company out of its deepening crisis? And more explosively, should he even be in office at all?
Matsiko previously served as Deputy Chief Executive Officer. However, according to whistleblower reports, he reached the mandatory retirement age of 60 years as per the company staff manual and public service standing orders in January 2025. Yet he did not leave. Instead, insiders say he begged the Board for a contract extension.
“The company human resource manual provides that employees shall not be retained in the service of UETCL beyond the age of 60 years following the day when he or she is celebrating his or her 60th birthday. Therefore, the board’s action to award a contract extension to Matsiko was irregular, against the company regulations and the public service standing orders,” says an insider at UETCL.
The board’s move reportedly flew in the face of earlier precedents. Former top executives such as Eng. Eriasi Kiyemba, Eng. Willy Kiryahika, Eng. Valentine Katabira and Eng. Gerald Muganga all exited when their time came. They were described as highly experienced and more qualified individuals who never resisted retirement.
Now staff morale is said to be sinking. While the leadership drama simmers, the financial picture is nothing short of catastrophic.
The Auditor General report points out how UETCL has transitioned from a profit-making position to a loss-making entity in spectacular fashion. The company’s loss exploded from Shs82.25 billion in financial year 2023/2024 to a staggering Shs293.09 billion in financial year 2024/2025, representing a jaw-dropping 456 percent deterioration. The Auditor General attributes the loss to increased impairment provisions on receivables, reversing the previous year’s profitability.
Operating margin has collapsed from 7.36 percent to minus 23 percent. Return on Assets has plunged to minus 6.7 percent. The debt ratio stands at 56 percent, above the 50 percent threshold considered safe, raising red flags about financial stability. Outstanding receivables amounting to UGX 1.480 trillion continue to suffocate cash flows despite ongoing recovery efforts. Legacy inter-entity balances remain unreconciled, including UGX 132.1 billion payable to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development for the rural electrification levy.
The Auditor General noted a deterioration in financial performance largely driven by receivables, impairment of UGX 484.3 billion and delayed revenue recovery. In simple terms, the money is not coming in, but the bills keep piling up.
Even worse, UETCL’s strategic ambitions appear to be gasping for oxygen. The Strategic Plan was underfunded by 41.8 percent, with only UGX 1.758 trillion available out of UGX 3.022 trillion required. Capital development funding suffered a 95 percent shortfall of UGX 905.366 billion, severely constraining project implementation, studies and network expansion.
Out of 91 planned outputs, only 46 were fully achieved. Thirty-one were partially achieved and 14 were not achieved at all. Service delivery efficiency has declined sharply. Transmission capacity utilization stands at a low 43.4 percent. Over 60 percent of transformers are operating below 50 percent load. The reserve margin has dropped from 32.2 percent to 12.83 percent. Technical losses of 4.46 percent exceeded the target of 4.08 percent.
The report paints a grim picture of ineffective utilization and maintenance of transmission assets. Long-idle and faulty transformers dot the system. Equipment failures and vandalism incidents have led to deemed energy costs of up to USD 3.28 million and increased operational risk.
More than 60 percent of the company’s assets remain classified as work-in-progress and do not contribute to revenue generation. The Auditor General links the low Return on Assets to this worrying reality. Management says it is expediting completion and commissioning of projects to bring them into productive use, but the clock is ticking.
Staffing is another headache. Ninety-seven positions out of 544 approved posts remain vacant, representing 17.8 percent of the establishment. Persistent staffing constraints, compounded by uncertainty from the proposed sector merger, have affected staff morale and retention of critical skills.
On the ground, the situation is equally troubling. Repeated vandalism of power lines have continued to plunge the country into darkness. Many Ugandans accuse UETCL of not doing enough to counter the vandals, questioning the company’s priorities. “Why not erect CCTV on every tower instead of repairing the same lines again and again? In this era of solar cameras and high-tech alarms, what is UETCL waiting for?”
Project management failures further compound the crisis. Under the Grid Expansion and Reinforcement Project, despite completion and loan closure, ongoing litigation and arbitration cases involve potential claims of approximately UGX 2.8 billion against the company. Low absorption of donor funds was blamed on procurement delays, with USD 10.43 million returned. Biodiversity offset activities were inadequately implemented, resulting in low tree survival rates and failure to achieve restoration targets.
The Masaka-Mbarara Transmission Line project recorded a negative fund balance of USD 2.62 million as at 30th June 2025, arising from internal borrowings. On the Mutundwe-Entebbe 132kV Double Circuit Transmission Line project, land title processing has stalled dramatically. Out of 79 titles obtained from Project Affected Persons, only three had been returned. Out of 320 titles received for right of way, only 10 had been processed, leaving 310 unprocessed due to expired contracts.
Despite the compensation process starting in December 2015, only 899 out of 1,053 PAPs had been compensated. Outstanding cases remain stuck in land disputes, irregular titles and missing documents. Incredibly, there was no valid contract for consultancy services between UETCL and M/S GOPA Intec even though defects liability period activities were supposed to be supervised. Spare parts had not been delivered at substations. Firefighting systems had been installed but not commissioned, leaving their effectiveness unascertained.
The Auditor General has advised loss-making entities like UECTL to strengthen financial oversight, conduct cost reviews and adopt efficient management practices. Government has been urged to consider recapitalizing the most adversely affected entities.
But the burning question remains: who is to blame?
Is it the Board that extended the contract of a CEO who had reached mandatory retirement age? Is it management that presided over underfunded plans, idle assets and procurement delays? Is it government for inadequate funding and policy indecision? Or is it a wider systemic failure, where vandalism, weak enforcement and poor asset management collide?
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