Kadaga receives oil petition
Sep 21, 2011
THE Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, yesterday received a petition asking her to convene a special session of Parliament to discuss the oil agreements the Government signed with two exploration companies.
By Henry Mukasa
THE Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, yesterday received a petition asking her to convene a special session of Parliament to discuss the oil agreements the Government signed with two exploration companies.
“I accept the petition. I will look at the Constitution and the Parliament rules of procedure and advise you accordingly,†Kadaga told chief petitioner Abdu Katuntu.
Katuntu, the shadow attorney general, was ac¬companied by Theodore Ssekikubo, the chairperson of the parliamentary forum on oil and gas and Kasilo MP Elijah Okupa.
Katuntu told the Speaker that 164 MPs had signed the petition; well above the one-third (125 MPs) as required by Article 95 of the Constitu¬tion.
During discussions on the budget, he explained, MPs noticed that the Government had allocated sh10b to pay allowances for lawyers argu¬ing the tax arbitration case with Heritage Oil in London.
This followed the firm’s transfer of its interests to Tullow Oil.
The matter was then referred to the legal and par¬liamentary affairs committee for further investigation.
“In the course of investiga¬tion, we were not satisfied with the responses given by the Attorney General. The committee mandated me to push through this process. This petition arose as a result of a resolution of the committee,†Katuntu said.
He pointed out that the petition was in national interest and the signatories reflect MPs on both sides of the political divide.
“Oil being an important resource to the country, your humble petitioners feel that Parliament is duty-bound to urgently intervene in the matter to avert any unclear dealings by the Government that would be detrimental to the oil sector,†the petition reads.
The MPs urged Kadaga to convene Parliament, now in recess, in 21 days.
Earlier, former Vice-Pres¬ident Prof Gilbert Bukenya became the 163rd MP to sign the petition.
As Katuntu, Ssekikubo and shadow minister of energy Beatrice Anywar addressed journalists in the mem¬bers’ lounge, Bukenya was ushered in by Dokolo MP Okot Ogong. This excited the other MPs.
Kadaga is expected to set the date for the hearing.
“We are talking about accountability and transpar¬ency in the energy sector. From exploration to near production now, there has been secrecy. We need to break that now,†Katuntu stated.
Ssekikubo said the way oil wells were given out and the secrecy surrounding the pro¬duction sharing agreements raises the question: “Where is Uganda’s share?â€
THE Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, yesterday received a petition asking her to convene a special session of Parliament to discuss the oil agreements the Government signed with two exploration companies.
“I accept the petition. I will look at the Constitution and the Parliament rules of procedure and advise you accordingly,†Kadaga told chief petitioner Abdu Katuntu.
Katuntu, the shadow attorney general, was ac¬companied by Theodore Ssekikubo, the chairperson of the parliamentary forum on oil and gas and Kasilo MP Elijah Okupa.
Katuntu told the Speaker that 164 MPs had signed the petition; well above the one-third (125 MPs) as required by Article 95 of the Constitu¬tion.
During discussions on the budget, he explained, MPs noticed that the Government had allocated sh10b to pay allowances for lawyers argu¬ing the tax arbitration case with Heritage Oil in London.
This followed the firm’s transfer of its interests to Tullow Oil.
The matter was then referred to the legal and par¬liamentary affairs committee for further investigation.
“In the course of investiga¬tion, we were not satisfied with the responses given by the Attorney General. The committee mandated me to push through this process. This petition arose as a result of a resolution of the committee,†Katuntu said.
He pointed out that the petition was in national interest and the signatories reflect MPs on both sides of the political divide.
“Oil being an important resource to the country, your humble petitioners feel that Parliament is duty-bound to urgently intervene in the matter to avert any unclear dealings by the Government that would be detrimental to the oil sector,†the petition reads.
The MPs urged Kadaga to convene Parliament, now in recess, in 21 days.
Earlier, former Vice-Pres¬ident Prof Gilbert Bukenya became the 163rd MP to sign the petition.
As Katuntu, Ssekikubo and shadow minister of energy Beatrice Anywar addressed journalists in the mem¬bers’ lounge, Bukenya was ushered in by Dokolo MP Okot Ogong. This excited the other MPs.
Kadaga is expected to set the date for the hearing.
“We are talking about accountability and transpar¬ency in the energy sector. From exploration to near production now, there has been secrecy. We need to break that now,†Katuntu stated.
Ssekikubo said the way oil wells were given out and the secrecy surrounding the pro¬duction sharing agreements raises the question: “Where is Uganda’s share?â€