By Haggai Matsiko & Mubatsi Asinja Habati Corruption feared as laws vest too much power in executive over contracts The government has abandoned a key legislation for the oil sector—the Oil Revenue Management Bill—without which revenues from the sector might end up managed poorly. The government had promised to table …
Read More »Can MPs improve oil contracts? Part II
By Andrew M. Mwenda Parliamentary intervention in government contracts has been consistently counterproductive because MPs do not look at all sides (…continued from last week) I argued in this column last week that parliamentary intervention stopping the signing of oil contracts is likely to make a bad situation worse. First, …
Read More »Can MPs improve oil contracts? Part I
By Andrew M. Mwenda We should be suspicious of parliamentary interventions in lucrative government contracts because they often make a bad situation worse Recently, President Yoweri Museveni ordered government of Uganda officials to sign oil Production Sharing Agreements with companies. This was in spite of a resolution by parliament stopping …
Read More »Uganda: Government promises oil refinery in 3 years
By Julius Businge The Assistant Commissioner for petroleum exploration and production in the ministry of Energy Robert Kasande says the refinery to process Uganda’s crude oil will be ready in three years after government completing a feasibility study regarding its size, products and costs of the facility. The official made …
Read More »Oil bribery documents forged?
By Jasper T. Mpiriirwe An expert’s response Every forgery must have an original and an originator After reading the article: “Oil-bribes scandal in historical perspective” (The Independent, Issue no.) by Andrew Mwenda, I have been privately looking at what could have happened in this scandal now being investigated by an …
Read More »Oil bribes
By Eriasa Mukiibi Sserunjogi How Mbabazi lost round one Item no.6 on the Order Paper of Parliament on Nov. 9 was just 28 words. But its outcome could transform the relationship between parliament and the executive. Item 6 was a motion to force the most powerful member of President Yoweri …
Read More »Invest oil revenues carefully
By Deus Mukalazi Should the US$ 331.4 million budgeted for the Karuma Power project and the purchase of military jets have been our first During her budget speech this year, the Minister of Finance, Maria Kiwanuka allocated US$ 331.4 million for the Karuma Hydro Power Project. The minister was only …
Read More »Understand the transparency initiative on oil
By Deus Mukalazi Supporting the EITI is a good thing; understanding how it works is even better One of the resolutions passed by the 9th Parliament on Oct.11 was a demand for the government to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). Seeing and hearing the members of Parliament chorus …
Read More »Oil bribery scandal
By Independent Investigations The story behind the news In August 2010, a source brought to The Independent a series of documents showing bank transfers of large amounts of money to two ministers: Sam Kutesa of Foreign Affairs and Hillary Onek, then of Energy and Mineral Development. According to the documents, …
Read More »Oil could cause war
By Mubatsi Asinja Habati Museveni guarding against outsiders but the danger is internal, say experts On Aug. 2 Uganda’s oil rich western border with the Democratic Republic of Congo showed once again that it can erupt into insecurity at any time. Barely three months to the tense November 28 presidential …
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