There is government support for off-grid electrification programmes, although there seems to be a tendency among government officials to favour grid extension over off-grid solutions. Lack of coordination among and within several ministries and government bodies hampers the effective implementation of (off-grid) energy policies.
Other issues related to creating an enabling environment include:
- The Renewable Energy Policy (REP) is about 14 years old and needs to be updated. A revised policy is currently being worked on.
- UNBS needs to be supported in developing and enforcing quality standards. It is in the final stages of developing a standard for SHS and pico-solar products – largely plug-and-play products.
- An interim quality assurance framework has been put in place to guide public funding of off-grid solar programmes that use assembled solar components. This framework, which also adopts IEC standards for products, is expected to be adapted into a national Quality Assurance Framework and Code of Practice in the second quarter of 2021.
- The current solar products tax and duty exemption scheme is not uniformly applied by the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).
- To a certain degree, there is mistrust between government and the private sector, building over time as the result of a perceived lack of transparency on both sides.