Prime
Rural Electrification Agency gets acting director
Ms Joan Mutiibwa, the acting executive director of REA. FILE/File
Energy minister, Dr Goretti Kitutu, last week named Ms Joan Mutiibwa as the acting executive director of Rural Electrification Agency (REA), the statutory body charged with operationalising government’s rural electrification programme.
Ms Mutiibwa replaces Mr Godfrey Turyahikayo, the long service executive director since REA’s inception in 2003, whose one-year contract extension expired last week and was not renewed.
Prior to last week’s appointment, Ms Mutiibwa was working as REA principal engineer. He was charged with coordinating several donor funded projects including the World Bank funded phase III of the Energy for Rural Transformation (ERT3).
She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from Makerere University and a Master’s from University of Nottingham UK.
Ms Mutiibwa will hold office pending appointment of a substantive new board, which will recruit a substantive executive director.
Energy ministry officials said composition of a new board is in advanced stages and the nominated names would be submitted to Cabinet soon.
REA, one of the heavily funded government agencies, has for the last couple of years been embroiled in scandals reinforced by infighting between Mr Turyahikayo and his deputy, Mr Godfrey Werikhe, who is currently on suspension pending conclusion of police investigations into alleged corruption under directives of President Museveni.
Earlier on on March 10, the President wrote to the CID director, Ms Grace Akullo, ordering for prosecution and recovery of monies allegedly plundered by top officials at REA.
The President indicated that the investigations he had “commissioned to find out what has been happening in REA are now complete and that some corrupt officials have been colluding with some shoddy suppliers and contractors.”
