MPs want oil production information publicised
Feb 06, 2010
ALL issues concerning oil revenues, including the role of stakeholders should be made public, the parliamentary budget office has recommended.
By Joyce Namutebi
ALL issues concerning oil revenues, including the role of stakeholders should be made public, the parliamentary budget office has recommended.
It said the optimism generated by the discovery of oil reserves called for transparency and openness in the way the production chain will be managed.
This was contained in a draft report on the performance of the economy for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2009/10, presented to the national economy committee on Wednesday.
The report covered the recent developments in the economy, the monetary sector, domestic capital markets, the energy sector and investment.
Oil wells were drilled in Bunyoro region at an estimated investment of over US$500m, according to the report. It added that results from the petroleum exploration indicated “positive prospects for commercial productionâ€.
The report recommended that the government puts in place a comprehensive oil policy and a legal framework on its production.
It also called for the quick extension of the Kenya-Uganda oil pipeline in order to move in tandem with exploration and production efforts.
“We hope the planned refurbishment of the Jinja storage tanks and the extension of the Kenya-Uganda oil pipeline will solve petroleum supply constraints,†the report added.
The budget office also recommended that in addition to mitigating the constraints to doing business faced by commercial banks, the government should gradually reduce its dominance in the financial market.
“The Central bank can develop monetary policy instruments that do not crowd out private sector credit,†it advised.
It also pointed out that during the period under review remittances by Ugandans working abroad declined by 13.5% to $220m (about sh430b) from $254.4m and this was attributed to the global financial crisis in the USA and Europe.
ALL issues concerning oil revenues, including the role of stakeholders should be made public, the parliamentary budget office has recommended.
It said the optimism generated by the discovery of oil reserves called for transparency and openness in the way the production chain will be managed.
This was contained in a draft report on the performance of the economy for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2009/10, presented to the national economy committee on Wednesday.
The report covered the recent developments in the economy, the monetary sector, domestic capital markets, the energy sector and investment.
Oil wells were drilled in Bunyoro region at an estimated investment of over US$500m, according to the report. It added that results from the petroleum exploration indicated “positive prospects for commercial productionâ€.
The report recommended that the government puts in place a comprehensive oil policy and a legal framework on its production.
It also called for the quick extension of the Kenya-Uganda oil pipeline in order to move in tandem with exploration and production efforts.
“We hope the planned refurbishment of the Jinja storage tanks and the extension of the Kenya-Uganda oil pipeline will solve petroleum supply constraints,†the report added.
The budget office also recommended that in addition to mitigating the constraints to doing business faced by commercial banks, the government should gradually reduce its dominance in the financial market.
“The Central bank can develop monetary policy instruments that do not crowd out private sector credit,†it advised.
It also pointed out that during the period under review remittances by Ugandans working abroad declined by 13.5% to $220m (about sh430b) from $254.4m and this was attributed to the global financial crisis in the USA and Europe.