Why put communities at the centre of Uganda’s oil and gas resource management?
By Joseph Mawejje, Research Analyst Natural resource management and governance often ignore the needs, fears and concerns of the local communities to both the government and the people’s detriment. Too often the needs of local communities are overlooked when such great economic opportunities arise. While local communities often expect great things from new natural resource discoveries, they also fear and anticipate marginalisation by the government and the incoming corporations, according to a study by the Economic Policy and Research Centre (EPRC) that examines how prepared Uganda is to accelerate growth and maintain intergenerational equity, the impact of the burgeoning Ugandan oil sector on the lives and concerns of the people most directly affected by this new industry. The last decade has seen resurgence in interest of the vast natural resources in Africa. Oil and gas resources have been at the forefront of natural resource exploration in many countries in Africa. It