Following internal squabbling, Ugandan President Yoheri Museveni ordered the dismissal of the old Uganda Airlines board of directors, which was led by Perez Ahabwe, in April 2021. Since its inception in 2019, the Ugandan flag carrier has been losing money and operating on a tight budget, and it now need a real cost-cutting team to successfully achieve its ambitious business strategy.
Priscilla Mirembe Seruka has been appointed as the new head of the Uganda Airlines board of directors. General Edward Katumba Wamala, the Minister of Works and Transport and the other six directors (Mr. Ocailap Patrick, Ms. Namugambe Barbara, Captain Ebrahim Kisoro Sadrudin, Mr. Samson Rwahire, Eng. Herbert Kanuntu, and Mr. Omoding Abdi Karim) were all installed on Friday, April 1, 2022, by the Minister of Works and Transport and were each appointed to a three-year term.
As stated by the Ministry of Works and Transport, “the new seven-member board will not only assure connectivity, but will also encourage tourism, business, and other sectors of the economy.”
During the installation ceremony, the head of the ministerial department instructed them to take note of the mistakes made by the previous board of directors and to go forward. “You must demonstrate complementarity rather than rivalry,” General Katumba admonished.
A warning that is not unimportant in light of the fact that the previous board of directors was at odds with the former general management and certain officials of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport at the time of the warning.
Cornwell Muleya, the former chief executive officer of Uganda’s national airline, and other officials of the firm were fired on February 18 after being suspended on April 21, 2021, on allegations of corruption and mismanagement. Muleya had previously been suspended.
Clearly, the new management team will have its job cut out for it in order to turn around the finances of the national carrier, especially given the fact that the effects of the health crisis are still being felt.
Because of the company’s launch in August 2019, Uganda Airlines has suffered losses totaling UGX15 billion (USD4 million) in fiscal year 2018/19 (which includes the pre-operational period), UGX102.4 billion (USD29 million) in fiscal year 2019/20, and UGX164.573 billion (USD46 million) in fiscal year 2020/2021.
The airline now operates six aircraft, four of which are CRJ-900s and two of which are Airbus A330-800neos (to be received in December 2020 and February 2021). It now operates around eight flights out of Entebbe International Airport in Uganda.
In addition to these cities, it has set ambitions for Lusaka, Johannesburg, Khartoum, Cairo, and Harare as part of its regional expansion strategy.
Uganda Airlines intends to fly to Guangzhou, Mumbai, Dubai, and London from its transcontinental hub in Entebbe, Uganda. It has already been established that traffic privileges would be granted for the later two routes.