Hima Cement decries power shortages

Hima Cement, Uganda, has decried the current shortage of power supply and called on the government to work on a speedy solution to save the industry and the economy at large.  Hima Cement Director, Mr Martin Aliker, said the company’s profits, which had been rising since Lafarge, took over Hima in 1999 had been falling for the last two years because of unreliable power supplies.

Hima Plant Manager, Mr John Maingi, said apart from the poor power supply hurting profits was also having an impact on the company’s long-term plans. "We continue to lose a lot of opportunities because we are not sure of the next interruption and how long it will take. Our planning process has been thrown into disarray," he said.

The power shortages have also had a drastic effect on cement production at Uganda’s biggest cement producer. When local news reporters visited the Hima plant, about one hundred trucks had lined up for cement (some had been there for more than four days).