Action Agenda
Oil
The recent discovery of oil in Uganda’s Albertine Rift region has set off a historic oil rush and sparked hopes that promised huge earnings will benefit all Ugandans.
But instead of new wealth and prosperity for our people, it is destined to be just another “oil curse” that afflicts all other African nations now producing oil. Our government’s mismanagement and corruption so far all but ensure this. NAPE’s action agenda is to produce a better outcome, including hosting the OilWatch Uganda Network.
Lead partner Tullow Oil, a UK company, France’s Total Group, and the China National Offshore Oil Company have begun production from onshore wells that use directional drilling to tap oil reservoirs under Lake Albert; each owns a one-third interest. A planned refinery there will produce petroleum products for domestic use and export. Besides Lake Albert, oil has been discovered by Dominion Oil in Lake Edward, but it is too early to tell if it will produce significant volumes.
Troubling Government Actions
The London-based research organization, PLATFORM, analyzed leaked copies of secret contracts between the government and Tullow and other oil companies and found a shocking lack of contractual protections of the public interest. To read PLATFORM’s analysis, click here.
Also troubling is the abuse of the rights of Ugandans and polluting of Lake Albert and adjacent lands from sloppy handling of oil drilling wastes and produced waters. For example, the defense ministry in August 2011 announced it would evict some 3,000 residents in the Hoima district to establish a large army base to protect the oil fields.
Our government officials have already decided to coddle the oil industry, ignore protected lands, evict whole communities from their homes and farms, impose their will with military units and private security forces, and ignore the already extensive pollution caused by oil activities.
Underscoring the environmental stakes is the fact that seven out of the 10 oil discoveries have been in protected areas, including the Greater Virunga Transfrontier Park, Kabwoya Wildlife Reserve, and Murchison Falls National Park.
Governance the Problem
Contrary to its pretensions, Uganda’s government has bungled, squandered or stolen every opportunity to protect our interests. The leaked contracts, exposures of illegal secrecy and other aspects show that we can expect that the oil earnings will disappear into secret spending and corruption.
We realize that this is most fundamentally a governance problem, not just a technical or environmental problem. To provide any benefit to us, our government must strictly, transparently and honestly regulate Uganda’s oil and gas industry. That will take not just NAPE’s involvement, but also a broad array of communities, organizations and leaders to overcome the political inertia and official arrogance.
The warning signs are everywhere that we are on a direct course to become just one more African nation afflicted by the oil curse. Every Ugandan has a direct stake in making sure this does not happen.
NAPE Actions
Because of the broad impacts and urgency, preventing an oil curse in Uganda is a major NAPE priority. Key elements of our oil action agenda are as follows:
To end the secrecy, NAPE is cooperating with other NGOs like Greenwatch Uganda, which has filed lawsuits to obtain and make public key oil documents kept secret by government. This information is necessary before any member of the public can make an informed judgment.
In 2008, NAPE was one of 62 groups to establish a Publish What You Pay coalition, which has advocated extractive industry transparency through education on how Ugandans can influence policy decisions, pressed on environmental issues and advocated the benefits of disclosing of Production Sharing Agreements.
NAPE advocates that the government of Uganda, at a minimum, adopt and implement the statement of principles of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, a World Bank-supported effort to ensure revenue transparency. This includes an open accounting of where oil earnings have been spent.
We have demanded that government renegotiate the Production Sharing Agreements and other contracts, this time with terms that protect Ugandans’ interests and assert or energy sovereignty.
We have also demanded that security officials in the oil region stop their campaign to harass, threaten and arrest NAPE staff, as they did when we conducted a study tour in Bulisa in 2010.
NAPE has carried out extensive research about oil operations in the Albertine Rift region, including site visits, consultations with NGO experts, and examining impacts on affected communities.
Because our review of the Environmental Impact Assessments shows that our watchdog officials have approved unsafe operations, we have demanded a new assessment with adequate safeguards and a stop to drilling in Murchison Falls National Park.
To seek redress of extensive violations of property and human rights in affected communities, NAPE has formed a host community network of over 40 local groups for grassroots training and mobilizing. This included legal outreach and 28 training sessions as of 2011.
Oil Watch Network Uganda was organized in 2010, hosted by NAPE, to promote good governance in oil and gas development, supported by international funders. About 40 groups in the oil region and 28 other partner organizations in other parts of Uganda are members.
NAPE also helped organize OilWatch Africa, based in Nigeria, with member organizations from Cameroon, South African, Sudan, Chad, Ghana, Angola, Nigeria and others.
To better inform the public, NAPE has produced extensive reports and papers, as well as helping to produce an awareness-raising documentary video, “Uganda’s Oil: A Curse or a Blessing?” with the Open Society Foundation/Publish What You Pay.
To read more, click here.
