Hoima women confront Gov't officials with jerricans for oil

Sep 11, 2014

Government officials were recently shocked by a group of women who stopped them on their way to the oil fields in Hoima and demanded for oil

By Pascal Kwesiga and Bill Rwothungeyo

Government officials were recently shocked by a group of women who stopped them on their way to the oil fields in Hoima and demanded that they share with them the “oil” they had collected from the area.

The state minister for minerals, Peter Lokeris, said the women who were carrying jerricans confronted the government officials on Hoima-Kaiso-Tonya road on their way to the oil fields.

“Can you give us some of the oil?” Lokeris quoted the women asking the government officials for oil.
A group of youth from Bunyoro last month handed a petition to the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, in which they claimed that trucks with registration number plates of some countries in East Africa were being used to ferry oil from the region.

Lokeris dismissed the claims that the government has been “exporting” oil.

“I want to tell you that you cannot export oil with water and mud. What we have today is oil full of mud and it has to be refined first before it can be exported,” he said.

Government plans to build an oil refinery in Kabaale parish in Hoima.

Lokeris was speaking at a send-off dinner for five Ugandan students sponsored by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) at Serena hotel in Kampala recently.

The students will pursue undergraduate and masters’ degrees in petroleum engineering and oil and gas field development engineering at the China University of petroleum for four and three years respectively.

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