The Hydro Power Association of Uganda (HPAU) Ltd has extended the mandate of its National Executive Committee (NEC) members till 2023. This decision was arrived at during the association’s Annual General Meeting held at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development boardroom on August 31, 2022.
During the deliberations, the members observed that only a negligible number of members had actually fulfilled their membership and subscription fee obligations; which was a prerequisite for making binding resolutions during such a meeting. They attributed this to the disruptions of business by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The meeting therefore unanimously agreed that allowing at least one extra year for the current nine-member NEC would enable them mobilise resources in form of membership fees, grants and other sources for the sustainability of the organisation.
The three-year term for the current NEC, headed by Eng. Emmy Matovu, had officially expired in June. The few changes, however, were that the current Vice Chairman, Mr. Dan Marlone Nabutsabi, takes on as Acting Chairman to allow Eng. Matovu time to recover from a medical emergency he got a couple of months back. Dan Marlone was also nominated as HPAU representative to the board of the Uganda National Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Alliance (UNREEEA); replacing Mr. Benard Sembatya, who voluntarily retired after being on the UNREEEA board since inception in 2015.
Meanwhile, the NEC would also sit to fill the position of one of its members, Eng. Miiro Emmanuel Musoke, who passed on in June; just before the NEC term expired.
The meeting was officiated by Eng. Benard Mbaine, on behalf of the UNREEEA. He urged the HPAU leadership to steer the association towards the level where it would be visible and relevant in the hydro power and energy sector in the country and beyond.