Members of the Ugandan Parliament on Tuesday October 11 rose from a two-day sitting by resolving that a moratorium be placed on executing all oil contracts and transactions until the necessary laws have been passed by Parliament within 30 days, reports Uganda’s Daily Monitor newspaper. According to the paper, the resolution was prompted by allegations of corruption in oil contract deals against Prime Minister, Amama Mbabazi, Foreign Affairs Minister, Sam Kutesa and former Energy Minister and now Minister for Internal Affairs, Hilary Onek.
They were ordered by the parliamentarians to step down while further investigations into the allegations by a parliamentary sub-committee continue. Other resolutions of the Members of Parliament, MPs, include the scrapping of confidentiality clauses in all future oil contracts, the mandatory payment in advance of capital gains tax by some oil companies before Parliament gives its assent to their contract, production by government of all previous oil agreements and that the State should have retain 15 per cent stake in all oil transactions.
Reacting to the resolutions, Minister Onek agreed to step down to allow Parliament investigates the matter further. PM Mbabazi said: “I have no problem with the investigations because I have nothing to hide. But to resign, we are going to have chaos ... because someone has made baseless allegations,” reports Daily Monitor. “The three ministers should step aside to allow investigations go on. As long as they are still in office, they will influence the investigations. If they are found innocent, they will come back,” Stephen Kagwera, MP for the National Resistance Movement, said. “My brother, Onek, the people of the north are known for hard work but not for stealing. If it is proven that you were involved in these allegations, I will discipline you,” warned the Public Accounts Committee Chairman, Kassiano Wadri.
According to New Vision newspaper, Tuesday’s Parliamentary resolutions came after MPs had petitioned the Speaker, Rebecca Kadaga, to recall Parliament from recess to debate the country’s oil deals. Uganda is a recent oil producer and is now believed to have oil reserves of up to 2.5 billion barrels in the Albertine Graben, up from 300 million barrels in 2006. With current drilling, the country could produce 150,000 barrels by 2015; thus placing her among the world’s 50 top oil producing nations, says Daily Monitor.
