Army transporters say they are missing out on WFP delivery business
Kampala, Uganda | Cabinet has approved US $266million (Approximately 984.2billion Uganda Shillings) to revamp the now dormant Uganda Air Cargo Corporation (UACC) Limited, another of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) enterprises.
The company that specializes in cargo freight has been unable to do business for almost four years now owing to lack of operational capital and grounding of most of its aircrafts, some of which are no longer airworthy and have been condemned according to international aviation standards.
Management now says, if the US $266million funding is released, they will be in position to revamp equipment and lease more to take a share of the abundant opportunities they have missed out over the years.
The wretched situation of the company, a subsidiary of the National Enterprise Corporation (holding company of the UPDF) was disclosed to Members of Parliamentary Committee on Committee on Defence and Internal Affairs during their oversight visit to the company premises over the weekend.
General Manager Gen Nakibus Lakara (former UPDF Chief of Staff) disclosed that the decision to extend the required funding to the company was taken by Cabinet in May vide Directive 185 (CT2023). According to the directive, the money is supposed to be disbursed over a period of four years in installments of US $ 103 million, US $110 million, US $23million and US $3million, starting the coming financial year.
The money is to be used to undertake “avionics upgrades, remodification and recalibration of the grounded Hercules C-100-30 aircraft (grounded in Sudan), leasing of an Airbus 320 for (troop movements), leasing of an Airbus 330-200F or an equivalent 60-ton cargo aircraft for longer range cargo freight operations to the Middle East, Asia and Europe and procurement of spares, components and other consumables.”
Board chairman Capt Gad Gasatura and Lakara told the MPs that UACC had lost key clients including the United Nations and in particular World Food Programme, among others. It is noteworthy that Eastern and Central Africa has been having various situations of conflict and human displacement in which the UN has been widely involved with humanitarian and peace keeping missions, which offer wide business opportunities for stable and steady air operators.
UACC lost its air operator certificate in 2014 when its long flight crafts were found not to be airworthy and management says this was part of the cause of the crisis. Other challenges pointed out included the risk of litigation owing to indebtedness. The company was said to be indebted to the tune of shillings 6.686billion due to delayed payment of statutory fees and failure to clear some of the suppliers.
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