Uganda

2011 will go into the annals of Uganda’s history as the year when the oil bubble burst. The last quarter of the year was characterised by much talk on oil that persistent media reports quoted the President advising Ugandans not to be so excited about the recent oil discoveries.

All this after the oil debate reached boiling point and climaxed with a special session in Parliament to discuss developments in the oil industry. At some point, the President was even quoted as having said that sometimes he has to be reminded that we even have oil in Uganda, saying he forgets.

Uganda’s new oil and gas industry has brought with it new phrases, one of which is ‘national content sometimes called local content’. I had never heard usage of the term until recently when, like other Ugandans, I picked interest in knowing what is going on in our oil and gas sector.

You can also view this communiqué in its original PDF format

Communiqué Issued at the Closing of the High Level Policy Dialogue on Oil Governance in Uganda

1. The High Level Policy Dialogue on Oil Governance in Uganda took place in Jinja, Uganda on November 30 –December 1, 2011.

Tullow Oil as well as other oil and gas companies based in the European Union, will be required to publicly disclose their payments to the government, according to a new law being drafted by the EU.

The oil industry has come under the spotlight in recent weeks over the highly confidential dealings and payments to the government of Uganda, which are kept under tight wraps.

Uganda’s oil may still be underground, but tensions are already bubbling to the surface as government, MP’s and civil society clash over allegations of million-dollar oil bribes, lawsuits and accountability demands.

Many Ugandans were positively surprised when Uganda’s parliament passed a resolution in early October demanding an end to all oil deals until proper transparency and accountability laws are put in place. There were also calls for an independent investigation into the alleged million-dollar bribes ministers had accepted from western oil companies.

“I could not believe it.

In probably the widest crackdown of financial secrecy within the oil, forestry and mining sectors, the European Union last week tabled draft resolutions that require companies from the 27 member bloc to publicly reveal the money they pay to governments – rules that affect firms like Tullow Oil and Total SA.

While the intention of the resolutions is to have mineral firms reveal such payments like royalties, production bonuses and profits, their target is also to unmask crimes such as bribery and tax evasion.

You can also view this press release in its original PDF format

Members of Parliament should not abdicate their fundamental responsibility to demand for accountability in the development of Uganda’s oil and gas sub-sector

1. Fellow country men and women, as 9th Parliament of Uganda convenes today, the debate on accountability in the oil and gas sub-sector is still at the centre stage of our national discourse.