Corporate Governance of State-Owned Extractive Companies: What Uganda Can Learn From Norway

This policy briefing analyzes the proposed corporate governance framework for Uganda's forthcoming national oil company (NOC), comparing it with the state-owned enterprise (SOE) model in Norway. The author argues that Uganda's current legislative approach is insufficient and recommends adopting stakeholder-oriented guidelines and a centralized supervisory body similar to Norway's Department of State Ownership to prevent corruption and government interference.

• Uganda's current corporate governance framework is deemed insufficient for state-owned enterprises (SOEs) because it focuses on shareholders rather than a broader range of stakeholders, such as citizens and employees.
• The Petroleum Bills of 2012 establish a national oil company (NOC) in Uganda, but the author contends that the legal regime fails to protect the entity from corruption or overt government interference due to non-mandatory transparency provisions.
• Norway's SOE governance framework is highlighted as a best-practice model based on OECD guidelines, emphasizing transparency, performance targets, and the protection of stakeholders.
• A key feature of the Norwegian model is the prevention of political interference in company management; specifically, ministers, members of parliament, and line ministry officials are prohibited from serving on SOE boards of directors.
• Norway utilizes a 'corporate assembly' for companies with more than 200 employees, allowing employees to elect a portion of the assembly, which serves as a mechanism for stakeholder involvement.
• The author recommends that the Ugandan government establish a central institution to supervise SOEs and the NOC, modeled after Norway's Department of State Ownership, to ensure regulatory compliance.

APA

Kyepa, T. (2013). Corporate Governance of State-Owned Extractive Companies: What Uganda Can Learn From Norway. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Policy-Briefing-64.pdf

Chicago

Kyepa, Timothy. Corporate Governance of State-Owned Extractive Companies: What Uganda Can Learn From Norway. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2013. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Policy-Briefing-64.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kyepa |first1=Timothy |title=Corporate Governance of State-Owned Extractive Companies: What Uganda Can Learn From Norway |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=March 2013 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Policy-Briefing-64.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kyepa2013corporate, author = {Kyepa, Timothy}, title = {{Corporate Governance of State-Owned Extractive Companies: What Uganda Can Learn From Norway}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2013}, month = mar, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Policy-Briefing-64.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }