The legal perspective for the prevention of oil curse in Uganda

ABSTRACT

The confirmation of commercially explorable oil deposits in the Albertine Graben region of Uganda has attracted a lot of attention, nationally and even internationally. This is not only because of the socio-economic impact oil production may have on Uganda but there is a lot of attention on whether Uganda will follow what seems to have become a trend in resource rich African countries. This trend is clear in ~ountries like Nigeria, Gabon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea. Despite the fact that Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producer, the income per capita has remained where it was in the 1960s and 70% of Nigerians live below the poverty line,· earning less than a dollar a day. In Gabon, the agriculture, commerce and industry sectors were neglected during the oil booiTl and yet the oil wells ran dry. In the case ·of Angola, the country has an unmanage~ble national debt with the bulk of the oil output mortgaged as security for the loans recklessly incurred in anticipation of income from oil. In Equatorial Guinea, oil has not at all been translated into income for the citizens, most of who live in extreme poverty, but most of the income has been deposited on the president's personal account in Washington DC. However countries like Norway and some Arab countries have managed to use oil to transform their economies and improve the lives of their citizens. Therefore, the government of Uganda has to ensure that it does not lead the country down the same path of its African counterparts but rather put in place systems and institutions that will make oil a "blessing" like it has been in countries like Norway. This paper therefore concentrated on a fundamental aspect of oil management; law and policy of petroleum investment. The sole purpose of this research was to analyze those laws and policies that relate to the petroleum industry in Uganda and determine their aptness and enforceability to the management of oil production in the country. The paper considered the following policies; The National oil and Gas Policy, The Energy Policy and The Minerals Policy. The researcher also analyzed The 1995 X Constitution of Uganda, the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act cap 150 (PEPA), The Petroleum (refining, conversion, tra .. smission and midstream) Act of 2013, the petroleum (exploration, development and production) Act, (NEA). The researcher considered the purposes of the law and the main goals of the policy, the strengths and weaknesses of the provisions that relate to petroleum and also considered instances where the law has not been implemented. This paper makes recommendations concerning the necessary adjustments in the petroleum related laws and policies, to ensure that oil is efficiently and effectively managed for the benefit of Ugandans.