The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Individuals and companies hoping to apply for mineral rights will have to wait a little longer as the online portal they are supposed to use isn’t yet ready.
The portal was supposed to go live on August 30, 2019 but according to the Energy and Mineral Development Ministry, it will be ready sometime this month.
Paul Kyazze, the Communications specialist of the Ministry confirmed to URN that the online portal hasn’t yet gone live. Last month, Uganda stopped receiving over the counter applications for mineral rights.
It was hoped that the online application would open on August 30, 2019. This is under the programme to upgrade the country’s Mining Cadastre and Registry System (MCRS) to an e-government based mineral licensing system
In a statement Robert Kasande, the Ministry of Energy Permanent Secretary, said through the online system, companies and individuals would be able to submit applications online, undertake all other business processes online and view the status of their application in real-time.
The system is expected to cut on the paper clutter, reduce on incidences of corruption and cases of lost applications. “The online mineral licensing system is expected to improve transparency and increase the accessibility of information, boost productivity, eliminate bureaucracy, reduce on the time taken to process applications for minerals rights,” Kasande said.
The online system was launched early this year but could not start as the ministry made preparations for its official start last month. Another delay might not go down well with the investors but also reflects badly on the part of government.
Kasande said all mineral rights holders and agents were expected to clear all outstanding annual mineral rents, royalty arrears as well as submit in their quarterly and annual reports before end of August, 2019 or risk being deleted automatically from the government register.
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