Uganda, Nov. 18 -- By around 2018, if anyone had suggested that Umeme would sweat over a concession renewal, it would be difficult to believe.

Yes, Uganda's largest power distributor seemed to be in control and on course of bagging a renewed concession.

The concession talk had come quite early, but it was necessary to calm market jitters and allow investors to inject long term capital.

In a November 2018 letter, President Museveni, in a bid to calm investors, directed the then Energy Minister Irene Muloni to commence concession negotiations with a bias of an extension.

"I have received information that the delay in starting negotiations on the Umeme concession is affecting the market," he wrote.

Subsequently, a committee composed of ...