The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda’s application to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) has been approved, a move that is expected to make open the deals Uganda has signed with different organizations in the oil and gas sector and other natural resources. Uganda becomes the 54th member of the organization and the 26th in Africa.
In a statement on Wednesday, EITI Board Chair, Helen Clark welcomed Uganda to the EITI community, saying “EITI implementation can help lay the foundation for transparent and accountable management of the country’s natural resource wealth.”
EITI requires Uganda to publicly disclose information such as contracts, beneficial owners, revenues, and payments, including payments related to the environment. These disclosures can in turn promote public oversight and debate. Uganda is expected to make the first disclosures within 18 months after joining.
The approval of Uganda’s membership will be music to the ears of the civil society that have for long called on Uganda to join and make open the deals the country has signed in the extractive’s sector including oil and gas. It will also raise confidence in the fact Uganda is committed to transparency.
Finance Minister Matia Kasaija said in a statement that “the decision to join the EITI was informed by the appreciation of the value of transparency as we progress our plans to develop Uganda’s natural resource wealth.”
He added that “We believe that this initiative has the potential to strengthen tax collection, improve the investment climate, build trust among sector stakeholders and help create lasting value from our mineral and petroleum resources.”
Uganda has 6.5 billion barrels of oil with between 1.4 and 1.7 billion barrels commercially viable. How Uganda deals with its oil reserves is being widely watched. The country has delayed production trying to put together a legal regime that will guide its utilization.
Besides oil, Uganda has a myriad of resources including iron ore, gold, copper, cobalt, and limestone. EITI ensures that scrutiny is made on whatever government does with the country’s resources. Uganda approved the decision to join the EITI in January 2019 and submitted an application in July 2020.
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Ever since Uganda got independence, over a period of 58yrs citizen s are still suffering u wonder where the abundant resources are flowing.