Oil Contract Rows Rock Uganda Ahead of Production

The Ugandan government is embroiled in disputes with politicians and activists over its failure to reveal the contents of contracts with oil-exploration companies operating in the country ahead of the start of oil production on the Ugandan side of the Albertine Rift on the country’s western border.

Uganda’s largest opposition political party, the Forum for Democratic Change, said Wednesday that it would petition Transparency International to compel the government to reveal the oil production sharing agreements to the Uganda public.
Ugandan activists have also petitioned the Ugandan high court to compel the government to make public the contents of the agreements in line with the Ugandan constitution and laws regarding access to information.

According to Dickens Kamugisha, chief executive officer of the Kampala-based Africa Institute for Energy Governance, the failure of government to reveal the agreements and its reluctance to subscribe to the Oslo-based Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative could create trouble when production begins.

“Expectations are high among the locals about the impending proceeds from the sector once production starts. This is likely to breed chaos,” he said.

Rigzone