Transparency key to success in oil and gas management in East Africa

State Minister for Mineral Development Samson Lokeris speaking at the forum

About a hundred delegates from the East African region are attending the two-day oil and gas management conference in Kampala, which has emphasized transparency in the nascent sector.

The delegates, mostly players from the private sector, oil communities, governments and policy think tanks in the region will debate oil revenue management and share best practices about it.  

Maria Kiwanuka, the minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development while opening the conference at the Serena Conference Centre in Kampala, Uganda, said there was need to promote transparency and ‘diffuse the distrust’ in government by the public over the sector.

“The Uganda government insists on transparency and accountability in the oil sector. We must have public dialogues. Nobody must feel that they have been left behind,” Kiwanuka said.

The conference, which attracted experts in the oil industry from different countries in the East African region, provides an opportunity for the participants to discuss best practices in oil and natural gas management.

It also aims to identify key issues, policy options, and implementation modalities that countries can adopt in order to institutionalize the equitable and sustainable management of their oil and natural gas reserves.

Regional think tanks in East Africa, specifically, Uganda-based Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC) and the Kenya Institute for Public Policy and Analysis (KIPPRA), in collaboration with the Africa Growth Initiative (AGI) at the Brookings Institution, are organized the conference.

Kiwanuka said that the government recognises the role of various stakeholders in the sector and called on both parties to communicate regularly.

“Communicate, communicate, communicate,” Kiwanuka emphasised adding that the government’s key principle was to “forward the sector through inclusiveness.” 

Mr. Mwangi Kimenyi of the Africa Growth Institute (AGI) said, “we need to spend time talking about how to manage our natural resources. Everyone must be involved in the discussion.”

Transparency, the conference emphasised, is important to the management of East Africa’s oil and gas reserves because it allows citizens to provide information that government needs to develop and implement policies that can deal effectively with the problems they encounter in the process.

The conference also noted that governments would not succeed if they operate in secret. Failure to maintain an open and transparent approach to contracting for natural resource exploitation, as well as the exclusion of relevant stakeholders from fully participating in the policy process, creates opportunities for corruption and abuse of the revenue allocation process, the conference heard.

The conference offers a platform for all relevant stakeholders to engage in robust dialogue on the consultative processes that should be put into place in natural resource management in general, and public contracting in particular.
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gambling with our Future? The Benefits and Costs of Legalised Gambling in Uganda

Gemma Ahaibwe  is a Research Analyst and  A nita Ntale is a Research Associate  at EPRC The overwhelming proliferation of lottery, casinos and sports betting in Uganda has seen the gambling industry develop in terms of penetration and revenue generation. Gambling related tax revenue has increased by about thirty-fold over the past decade, from UGX 0.24 billion in 2002/3 to UGX 7.4 billion in 2012/13. These revenues are set to increase even more with the introduction of a new 15% tax levied on winnings as per the 2014/2015 budget. As the government continues to search for more financing options for the national budget, the gaming industry is fast being recognised as one of the more underutilised potential tax bases. In contrast to the welcome revenue and taxes, gambling is also associated with undesirable socio-economic problems, which makes it particularly problematic for policy makers. Excessive gambling can result in financial family distress, and can be a trigger for other
Read more

The Urgent Need For Uganda To Pass and Implement The Fertilizer Policy

On 13 th of March, a number of stakeholders came together for a validation workshop. The workshop was regulatory impact assessment for the National Fertilizer policy for Uganda. As she opened the workshop, Dr. Sarah Ssewanyana, the executive director of EPRC revealed that there was need to increase fertilizer usage by small holder farmers in Uganda. Her comments were further enhanced by a Ministry official who said that “70% of the fertilizer imported into Uganda is used by large scale farms especially tea and sugarcane plantations.” It was Drake Rukundo’s presentation that called for an urgent need to pass and implement the fertilizer policy. In his submission, it was noted that out of the required 50kg/Ha/Annum, Uganda was adding only 1kg/Ha?Annum making the country one of the least in fertilizer use in the whole world. Rwanda farmers use 29kg/Ha/annum, Kenya 35kg/Ha/annum while South Africans were at 60kg/Ha/annum. To Rukundo, if government does nothing, there was a risk o
Read more

Mosquito nets do not eliminate malaria but save lives

By Ibrahim Kasirye Malaria as a leading killer disease in Uganda ahead of HIV/ AIDS. Uganda face over 10 million malaria cases annually and about 100,000 Ugandans lose their lives due to contracting malaria most of whom are children. It is responsible for 40% of all outpatients and 25% of all hospital admissions in health facilities. During the World Malaria Day celebration last week, the Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda Hon Rebecca Kadaga was quoted saying “ Mosquito nets are a waste of money ”. Although one may share the Speaker’s frustration that malaria remains a menace in Uganda whereas other tropical countries e.g. Cuba have managed to eliminate the malaria parasite, it is also worth appreciating the dilemma faced by public health officials and the environment within which they operate. At an estimated expenditure of US$ 150 million for 21 million   long lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINs) every 3 years (or about US$ 50 million per year), Uganda’s expenditures on
Read more