As part of its smart city agenda, the Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) has launched a hybrid solar system at Mulago School of the Deaf and Uganda School for the Deaf Ntinda.
The Public Infrastructure for Urban Development (PIFUD) project, which was funded by the European Union (EU), and Green Energy were responsible for implementing the system.
The Executive Director of the KCCA, Dorothy Kisaka, thanked the EU for continuing to help Kampala and Uganda grow and improve.
The smart city plan, according to Kisaka, is built on three pillars: technology, infrastructure, and people’s well-being.
“The Hybrid Solar System project emphasizes these pillars and fulfills the aspirations of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government’s social and economic transformation agenda,” she said.
According to Lennart Deridder, Head of the Inclusive Green Economy Team at EU Uganda, the project is about empowering children and providing them with the tools they need to grow by providing them with clean energy.
In addition, Deridder expressed his gratitude to PIFUD and KCCA for delivering the project and highlighted that access to clean energy is a catalyst for the delivery of other social services, like education.
Hon. Paul Mugambe, the Mayor of Nakawa Division, called the Hybrid Solar System Project a landmark project for the schools and the community. He thanked everyone who made the project a success and urged everyone to protect the solar system.
Masereka also highlighted that the schools can now have some savings from what they were spending on Umeme to maintain the solar system.
The solar system is designed to address the issue of power in schools. So far, the two benefiting schools have reduced their energy needs by 100% and 80% at Mulago and Ntinda, respectively.
The project has also improved the buildings, walkways, and landscaping of the schools.