Is Uganda Ready for Oil Revenues?

The policy brief argues that Uganda lacks the necessary legal frameworks and independent institutions to ensure transparency and accountability in the management of its oil revenues. While the Oil and Gas Policy of 2008 outlined institutional needs, many remain unimplemented, and the Petroleum Bill of 2010 is criticized for lacking progressive revenue collection and clear transparency guarantees. The author warns that current restrictions on information and threats to media freedom hinder public participation, recommending that oil production be delayed until a comprehensive revenue management law is enacted.

• Uganda possesses approximately 2.5 billion barrels of oil, with a $4.6 billion refinery planned for construction in the Hoima district's Kabale-Buseruka area starting in 2012 for a 2015 commissioning.
• The Oil and Gas Policy of 2008 intended to create a framework for revenue collection and management, but as of 2011, the required institutions are not in place and the government has not signed up to the Extractive Industries and Transparency Initiative (EITI).
• The Petroleum Bill of 2010 is criticized for not setting minimum levels for royalties, tax payments, or production shares, instead leaving these to be determined on a licence-by-licence basis.
• The Petroleum Bill of 2010 proposes a revenue sharing split where 85% of royalties go to the central government and 15% to regional and local governments, but it lacks a rationale for this distribution or a mechanism for progressive revenue collection during price booms.
• Access to information is severely restricted by the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act of 1985, which makes disclosing licensee information an offence punishable by fines or imprisonment unless the licensee consents.
• Proposed amendments to the Ugandan Press and Journalist Act of 1995 threaten transparency by granting the Media Council power to deny licences based on impacts to 'national security, stability, or unity'.
• There are concerns regarding the independence of the proposed oil management institutions due to a history of presidential directives overriding technical evaluations and state agents interfering with the judiciary.

APA

Tumusiime, F. (2011). Is Uganda Ready for Oil Revenues? South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Policy-Briefing-28.pdf

Chicago

Tumusiime, Francis. Is Uganda Ready for Oil Revenues? South African Institute of International Affairs, 2011. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Policy-Briefing-28.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Tumusiime |first1=Francis |title=Is Uganda Ready for Oil Revenues? |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=28 February 2011 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Policy-Briefing-28.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{tumusiime2011uganda, author = {Tumusiime, Francis}, title = {{Is Uganda Ready for Oil Revenues?}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2011}, month = feb, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Policy-Briefing-28.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }