Government has repossessed Uganda Telecom (UTL) ending years of uncertainty at Uganda’s longest Telecom firm.
Announcing government takeover from the Libyan National Telecom company- UCOM, the minister of Finance, Matia Kasaija said government had received notification from UCOM that it will no longer avail funding to UTL and has also directed the resignation of all the five representatives of UCOM on the Utl board.
He said in light of the above government has decided to take over the affairs and management of Utl with immediate effect, and will engage Ucom to ensure an orderly transition.
UTL has been in the news in last few years for bad reasons. Officials of the company were recently accused by Parliament of running down the company and also mistreating workers while at the same time helping themselves to hefty salaries and bonuses.
Customers of the firm have also suffered in the last few days after Airtel decided to sever working relationship with UTL over unpaid interconnection fees. It means customers of Utl cannot call or receive calls from Airtel.
Kasaija says government has taken over Utl to protect Uganda’s interests and save hundreds of jobs. Kasaijja has assured UTL customers, stakeholders and the general public that the company would remain operational with full support from government.
Uganda has since the years 2000 co-owned UTL with the Libyan government. Libya owned 69% shares while Uganda owned the rest of the shares.