Govt to publish all oil contracts and beneficial owners 

Government has said it is in the process of disclosing all contracts that have been signed in the oil and gas sector since 2021. 

In details contained in a June 6 Letter of Intent to the International Monetary Fund co-signed by Finance Minister Matia Kasaija and Bank of Uganda Director Research Adam Mugume, government indicated that as a way of implementing commitments under the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, it would disclose oil and gas production contracts signed from 2021 onwards as well as publish beneficial owners of corporate entities involved in projects in the mineral sector.

“We are preparing to disclose contracts and licenses for oil and gas production signed from 2021 onwards and beneficial owners of corporate entities involved in projects in the mineral sector,” the letter, published in the IMF June Fourth Review for Uganda, reads in part. 

However, government does not indicate when it expects to disclose the contracts and which other details, apart from beneficial owners, will be disclosed. 

Dr Mugume, yesterday told Monitor “the disclosure is being worked on but I am not sure when this be fulfilled”. 

“The IMF review mission is expected to end at the end of September, hopefully, they [contracts] will be disclosed before the IMF mission ends,” he said without giving more details.

Efforts to get more details from Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa were futile by press time, indicating she was out in the field and could not comment on the matter.  

The disclosure is part of government’s commitment to promote transparency in the extractives, oil and gas sector. 

The letter, which contains a raft of other commitments and written to the IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva, also indicates that government had already published the first Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative report for the 2020/21 financial year, even as there had been delays on the account of difficulties with procurement. 

“The first [Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative] assessment is due this year. We are also stepping up coordination between the [Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative] office placed at [Ministry of Finance] and sector ministries to improve information sharing,” the letter further indicates.

On August 12, 2020, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative board approved Uganda’s application to join the 54-member country setup, becoming the 26th country in Africa.

Mr Helen Clark, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative chairman, said then that Uganda would benefit by laying a foundation that would ensure transparent and accountable management of the country’s natural resource wealth. 

Uganda has first shown its indication to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative in the 2008 National Oil and Gas Policy, which was again reiterated in the updated 2012 Oil and Gas Revenue Management, before government approved the decision to present a candidature application in 2019, which was later submitted in July 2020. 

The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative requires member countries to disclose information along the extractive industry value chain – from how extraction rights are awarded, to how revenues make their way through government and how they benefit the public. 

The initiative sets a common set of rules, which govern what is disclosed and when in accordance with set guidelines. 

Ensuring transparency and accountability 

The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative was formed in London in June 2003, when 140 delegates from governments, companies, industry groups, international organisations, civil society organisations and investors agreed the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Principles, establishing the Initiative as a multi-stakeholder organisation to ensure transparency and accountability in the extractives sector. 

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