The government has launched a drive to distribute at least one million Liquefied Petroleum Gas cylinders and burners to Ugandans in a bid to use of clean energy starting this month.
To achieve this, government has partnered with fuel companies including Shell, TotalEnergies and Stabex to provide the gas cylinders.
Speaking during the launch, Energy Minister, Ruth Nankabirwa said that over the years there has been heavy reliance on biomass including firewood and charcoal as the primary cooking energy which has eroded the country’s national tree cover with adverse effects on the environment and the health of the population.
She noted that whereas government through the third National Development Plan (NDPIII) emphasizes the need for increased uptake of cooking gas at the household level as part of efforts to improve the quality of life, this has not been possible due to the cost of the gas cylinders.
“We know the upfront payment for these cylinders has been an uphill task for many families. In a bid to support the development and use of LPG as an efficient and clean cooking technology and a viable alternative for a sustainable environment, the ministry(of energy) has commenced the distribution of LPG starter kits aimed at scaling up the usage of cooking gas in households. This intervention targets LPG cooking energy to grow from the current 0.8 per cent to 20 per cent of Ugandan households by the year 2030,”Nankabirwa said on Tuesday.
