Umeme
Encyclopedia
History
Umeme was formed in 2004 when the Government of Uganda sold Uganda Electricity Distribution Company Limited (UEDCL) to a consortium belonging to Globeleq (56%), a subsidiary of the Commonwealth Development CorporationCommonwealth Development Corporation
The Commonwealth Development Corporation, now known as CDC Group plc, is a British development organisation owned by the UK Government...
(CDC) of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Eskom
Eskom
Eskom is a South African electricity public utility, established in 1923 as the Electricity Supply Commission by the government of South Africa in terms of the Electricity Act . It was also known by its Afrikaans name Elektrisiteitsvoorsieningskommissie . The two acronyms were combined in 1986 and...
(44%), the electric generating company of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. The transfer of assets did not take place until March 1, 2005. During 2006, the consortium formed by Globeleq and Eskom
Eskom
Eskom is a South African electricity public utility, established in 1923 as the Electricity Supply Commission by the government of South Africa in terms of the Electricity Act . It was also known by its Afrikaans name Elektrisiteitsvoorsieningskommissie . The two acronyms were combined in 1986 and...
was restructured and Globeleq became the sole owner of Umeme. As a result of internal restructuring within CDC, Actis Capital acquired ownership of the assets previously owned by Globeleq, thereby making Umeme a 100% subsidiary of Actis Capital. In May 2010, Umeme's communications director Charlotte Kemigyisha wrote an article in the Daily Monitor newspaper, calling for those convicted of electricity theft
Theft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
to be executed
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
. In December 2010, Umeme announced plans to invest US$32 million during 2011, in new substations, improvements in grid connectivity and the introduction of pre-payment systems.
Ownership
Umeme is wholly owned by Actis Capital, a subsidiary of the Commonwealth Development CorporationCommonwealth Development Corporation
The Commonwealth Development Corporation, now known as CDC Group plc, is a British development organisation owned by the UK Government...
(CDC) of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. CDC
Commonwealth Development Corporation
The Commonwealth Development Corporation, now known as CDC Group plc, is a British development organisation owned by the UK Government...
is a UK government-owned company, based in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, with investment assets mainly in the emerging markets of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, but with its main emphasis in sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
and South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
. It has an asset base of US$ 4billion of which approximately 8% is currently in the energy sector. Umeme is its first investment in the distribution end of the power sector but CDC is actively pursuing acquisitions seeking to increase its investments in the emerging markets.
The company plans to list its shares on the Uganda Securities Exchange
Uganda Securities Exchange
The Uganda Securities Exchange is the principal stock exchange of Uganda. It was founded in June 1997. The USE is operated under the jurisdiction of Uganda's Capital Markets Authority, which in turn reports to the Bank of Uganda, Uganda's central bank.The exchange's doors opened to trading in...
in 2012.
Board of directors
The Umeme Board of Directors has six (6) members, of whom five (5) are non-executive. Patrick BitaturePatrick Bitature
Patrick Bitature is a Ugandan businessman, entrepreneur and industrialist. He is one of the wealthiest people in Uganda.-Background:Bitature started his business empire with a single company, Simba Telecom, then a retail chain dealership, in MTN air-time...
, one of the non-executive directors, serves as the Chairman of the Board
Chairman of the Board
The Chairman of the Board is a seat of office in an organization, especially of corporations.Chairman of the Board may also refer to:*Chairman of the Board , a 1998 film*Chairmen of the Board , a 1970s American soul music group...
.
Management Structure
Umeme is structured into ten (10) management departments, each headed by a senior manager. The senior managers form what is called the Executive CommitteeExecutive (government)
Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
, whose members are the following, as of March 2010:
{| style="font-size:95%;"
|-
| width="80%" align="center" | Umeme Management Structure
|- valign="top"
|
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto"
! style="width:2em;" |Department!!Name of Manager!!Title of Officer
|-
|Office of the Managing Director||Charles Chapman||Managing Director
|-
|General Manager
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
||Sam Zimbe||General Manager Corporate & Regulatory Affairs
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
|-
|Finance
Finance
"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...
||Ian Williams||Chief Financial Officer
Chief financial officer
The chief financial officer or Chief financial and operating officer is a corporate officer primarily responsible for managing the financial risks of the corporation. This officer is also responsible for financial planning and record-keeping, as well as financial reporting to higher management...
|-
|Human Resource & Transformation
Human resource management
Human Resource Management is the management of an organization's employees. While human resource management is sometimes referred to as a "soft" management skill, effective practice within an organization requires a strategic focus to ensure that people resources can facilitate the achievement of...
||Tom Lanigan||Human Resources Manager
|-
|Safety & Systems||Phil Ball||Safety & Systems Manager
|-
|Regional Manager||Simbiso Chimbina||Regional Manager
|-
|Network Planning||Zach Human||Network Planning Manager
|-
|Metering Development||Jose Luis Rincon||Metering Development Manager
|-
|Retail Service Manager||Agnes Nalwanga||Retail Service Manager
|-
|Network Support||James Robert Ajal||Network Support Manager
|-
|}
Leadership Structure
Under the Executive CommitteeExecutive (government)
Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
, Umeme has twenty five (25) other manager
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
s who assist the Executive
Executive officer
An executive officer is generally a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization.-Administrative law:...
to implement company policy and run the company on a daily basis.