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EUROPEAN UNION
DELEGATION TO THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA

SPEECH BY H.E. AMBASSADOR KRISTIAN SCHMIDT

At the West Nile electrification pro ra!!e Gro"n# Brea$in Cere!on% Ar"a& '( Dece!)er *+',

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

Your Excellency, the President of the Republic of Uganda The Honorable Minister of Energy and Mineral Develop ent Mr! Udo "eber, Head of #er an $o%operation Honourable Me bers of Parlia ent, Resident District $o issioners, &ocal &eaders and Dignitaries, &adies and #entle en

The European Union is delighted to be today here in 'rua to (itness the start of the construction phase of the "est )ile Electrification Progra ! Together, (e are ar*ing a *ey ilestone in our efforts to support the "est )ile region! Today+s efforts are driven by Uganda+s ,ision -./., launched in 'pril this year! 0t reflects President Museveni+s dedication and vision to odernise Uganda+s infrastructure % in particular roads, transport, and energy! Your Excellency, (e are honoured to be your partners in this challenging endeavour! The European Union supports your vision to inco e country by -./.! 0t is a bitious, but it is doable! 1ur co it ent has not been (ea*ened by the i pact of the financial crisis, (hich has affected Uganda, 'frica and Europe! 0n fact, the grants dedicated to the 22th European Developed 3und covering -.2/ % -.-. is even higher than under the 2.th European Developed 3und for the period -..4 5 -.26!
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a*e Uganda an upper

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3or Uganda, the grant envelope is = 74> Million! Mr President, ?ohn &ennon had a great song called @Po(er To The People@! 'nd energy does exactly that: it e po(ers the people to e brace the future! This is (hy the European Union Aoins you in providing electricity to the "est )ile people! 'nd this is also (hy (e see this as an initial concrete step of a very a bitious larger, progra e that the EU has launched globally, addressing all of Bub% Baharan 'frica, to provide 7.. illion people (ith access to odern electricity services by -.6.! 1ver the last six years, the European Union allocated over = - billion in grants 5 4... trillion shillings % to i prove the state of the energy sector in developing countries! You should expect that level to increase in the future! 0n our ne( develop ent policy, EU 'genda for $hange, (e have chosen @Energy@ as one of the ost i portant pillars of our cooperation (ith e erging econo ies and developing partners, especially in Bub Baharan 'frica! There are so any good reasons to invest in sustainable energy, so let e only ention one: "o en often spend 2<%2> hours a day (or*ing on household chores (hich include gathering traditional fuel! "ith energy, so e of that ti e could be spent on education and inco e%generating activities! 'nd forests (ould be saved! These efforts are badly needed! Uganda is one of the countries (here energy poverty hits harder: over >7C of the population has still no access to electricity! 0n the "est )ile, only -C have the privilege of electricity access This is (hy (e offer our partnership! 'lready, over the last t(o years (e have been (or*ing closely (ith the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Develop ent! "ith our U) colleagues, the European Union has ta*en the lead here in Uganda, to pro ote the Bustainable Energy for 'll DBE/'&&E 0nitiative of the Becretary #eneral 8an%9i%Moon! Uganda has chosen to be a ong the @first overs@ countries! This entails a co it ent to bring access to odern energy to all before -.6.! Mr President, your friend President 8arroso therefore had Uganda in ind, (hen at the Rio conference last year, he announced the creation of a special invest ent facility to support the i ple entation of BE/'ll proAects! 0n -.26, (e put = 6-F Million into the 'frica%EU 0nfrastructure Trust fund T3 to deliver on these global obAectives! 3ro this ne( facility, = -. illion (as already ear ar*ed for Uganda to support invest ents in rene(able energy generation through the #et 30T sche e
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$rested To(ers, 27 3loor, Plot 24%-6 Hannington Road, P1! 8ox 7-//, 9a pala! Tel:;-7<%/2%4.2!... % this translates into the connection of an additional <,7.. households or al ost /.,... beneficiaries to the grid 5 and another = 2. illion to subsidise access to electricity services to 7.,... households in the Bouth "est region! 1ther proAects are in the pipeline!
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Mr President, ladies and gentle en, Today, (e launch the "est )ile #rid Extension Progra e, as a partnership bet(een the #overn ent, #er an cooperation and the European Union! The EU contribution (ill cover costs for the grid extension and rehabilitation as (ell as the #rid Densification! These are critical co ponents of the overall invest ent progra ! 0n fact, (ithout this grant, the invest ent (ould not have been econo ically viable, and could not have attracted a co ercial loan 0 a sure you also all share our concern that the people of the "est )ile can afford for connections to the extended grid! To ensure energy eGuality, the European Union is subsidising the connection costs to the grid to help fill the gap bet(een (hat the people are able to pay for connecting to the grid, and (hat it costs "E)RE$1 to a*e these connections! Under this D1utput 8ased 'id gridE sche e, 26-,7.. poor Ugandan households 5 or <77,... beneficiaries % (ill receive a subsidy to connect over the next 6 years! 1bviously, erecting distribution lines (ill indirectly benefit the entire population through the i prove ent of health care and education services or the develop ent of ne( businesses! &adies and #entle en, develop ent funds alone, even if substantially increased, are insufficient to the obAective of providing access to odern energy to all before -.6.! This is (hy (e are actively engaged (ith the #overn ent to develop a very a bitious European loan%grant @blending offer@, to use as uch as possible the grant funds available as a (ay to attract, leverage and ultiply the total invest ents! Bo let+s bring po(er to the peopleH The European Union and its -> Me ber Btates are (illing and active partners in supporting Uganda oving to(ards its -./. vision of beco ing an upper iddle inco e country, (ith a odern and sustainable infrastructure! Than* you for your attentionH

Fa-. /*0123'2*,,4+56 E2!ail. #ele ation2" an#a7eeas6e"ropa6e" 8e) site. http.998886#el" a6ec6e"6