75 MPs sign to recall House over oil deals
MPs (L–R) Katuntu, Ssekikubo and Niwagaba are facing off with the Attorney General, Mr Nyombi.
What you need to know:
Legislators say details on oil agreements must be made public as Attorney General insists this violates confidentiality clauses.
A group of MPs from across the political divide spent the weekend collecting signatures from colleagues for a petition aiming at recalling Parliament for an emergency sitting, barely three days after it went on recess.
Once endorsed, the petition will cause an emergency plenary sitting of Parliament to discuss the “secrecy and uncertainty” over government’s handling of the oil agreements with foreign companies.
The scheme to recall Parliament is spearheaded by the Lwemiyaga County MP Theodore Ssekikubo (NRM) and his Bugweri counterpart Abdu Katuntu, also the Shadow Attorney General. By Saturday, the duo had collected 75 signatures although the law provides for at least 125 signatures for such a move to succeed.
“As a country we need to be told about Tullow and Heritage company agreement with the government and what our share is in the entire deal,” said Mr Ssekikubo, who also chairs the parliamentary oil and gas group.
He added: “As long as we are in this Parliament, this is a non-partisan matter and it’s in that spirit that every member and person of goodwill will rise up to the challenge. Why is everything being kept a secret? We are headed for doom.”
Mr Ssekikubo said whereas the MPs are on recess, they hope to raise the required signatures by next week. The petition comes in the wake of government’s failure to provide to Parliament documents of all the oil transactions between government, Heritage and Tullow oil companies.
The Legal and Parliamentary Affairs committee last week summoned Attorney General Peter Nyombi thrice to furnish the committee with the details of the agreement but he never turned up. The MPs have since vowed to block the money until Parliament discusses issues in the oil sector.
Mr Wilfred Niwagaba (Ndorwa East, NRM) said: “When we requested especially for the agreements. We discovered that there are clauses that are controversial, which is why we are calling for the House’s intervention before it is too late.”
Was government duped?
The legal committee chairperson, Mr Steven Tashobya, told Daily Monitor yesterday that the manner in which the oil transactions are being handled is suspicious. “During our discussions in the committee, members raised concerns that there is more in the oil sector than meets the eye,” said Mr Tashobya.
Information before the committee indicates that government was duped into signing some ‘unfair’ clauses in the agreement. “For instance, Clause 33 of the agreement ties our hands, legs and ears. Even if world prices increase, we cannot change our share of the revenue,” said a source who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Deputy Speaker Jacob Oulanyah, who adjourned the House, yesterday declined to comment on the matter, referring this newspaper to Speaker Rebecca Kadaga, whose known mobile phone was off by press time.
Mr Nyombi, however, yesterday said Parliament cannot implore him to produce agreements that would tantamount to breach of contract. “The agreement has a confidentiality clause which we must respect. I have no problem releasing it but it would be tragic if I released them. I will only do so provided the parties authorise me,” Mr Nyombi said.
