UGANDA’S oil revenues should be publicised to avoid corruption, an official of Transparency International-Uganda Chapter (TI) has warned.
“Uganda has got to use oil revenues wisely when commercial production starts to prevent conflict. Oil, gas and minerals or the extractive industries generate a lot of wealth,” Job Ogonda, the programme coordinator for TI in East and South Africa, said.
He said most big oil and gas companies are not transparent about payments made to resource-rich countries.
Ogonda said the lack of transparency leads to corruption, economic stagnation, inequality and conflict.
“In the absence of such transparency, governments and companies may behave in ways that will enhance the wealth of the few elite and yield no benefit to the many citizens,” Ogonda said while launching a report at the Imperial Royale Hotel, Kampala.
The report evaluated 42 leading international and national oil and gas companies operating in 21 countries. It evaluated transparency of their reporting, particularly on payments made to governments for resource extraction rights.
Based on publicly-available data, the report categorised companies into high, middle and low performers.
Robert Lugolobi, the executive director of TI Uganda Chapter, said the Constitution grants Ugandans ownership of the country’s natural resources and access to information.
Lugolobi said much of the data on what companies pay for the right to exploit the resources and how the money is spent by host governments remains unpublished and beyond public scrutiny.
“When companies and governments are fully transparent, citizens, journalists, civil society, researchers and investigators can track revenue flows, holding public officials accountable and discouraging corruption,” he said.
“Oil and gas wealth, if properly managed, should support better services and infrastructure. It should lead to a better quality of life for all citizens. It is the duty of civil society to work with companies and governments to unlock this potential.”
“Companies need to act quickly to introduce pro-active reporting, rather than wait for legislation.”
According to the report, revenue reporting on a country-by-country basis, which is identified as best practice, was possible.
