The Legal Perspective for the Prevention of Oil Curse in Uganda.
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Date
2014-05
Authors
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Publisher
Kampala International University, School of law.
Abstract
The confirmation of commercially explorable oil deposits in the Albertine Graben
region of Uganda has attracted a lot of attention, nationally and even internationally.
This is not only because of the socio-economic impact oil production may have on
Uganda but there is a lot of attention on whether Uganda will follow what seems to
have become a trend in resource rich African countries. This trend is clear in
countries like Nigeria, Gabon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea.
Despite the fact that Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producer, the income per capita
has remained where it was in the 1960s and 70% of Nigerians live below the poverty
line,· earning less than a dollar a day. In Gabon, the agriculture, commerce and
industry sectors were neglected during the oil bootleg and yet the oil wells ran dry. In
the case ·of Angola, the country has an unmanageable national debt with the bulk of
the oil output mortgaged as security for the loans recklessly incurred in anticipation
of income from oil. In Equatorial Guinea, oil has not at all been translated into
income for the citizens, most of who live in extreme poverty, but most of the income
has been deposited on the president's personal account in Washington DC.
However countries like Norway and some Arab countries have managed to use oil to
transform their economies and improve the lives of their citizens. Therefore, the
government of Uganda has to ensure that it does not lead the country down the
same path of its African counterparts but rather put in place systems and institutions
that will make oil a "blessing" like it has been in countries like Norway.
This paper therefore concentrated on a fundamental aspect of oil management; law
and policy of petroleum investment. The sole purpose of this research was to
analyze those laws and policies that relate to the petroleum industry in Uganda and
determine their aptness and enforce ability to the management of oil production in
the country.
The paper considered the following policies; The National oil and Gas Policy, The
Energy Policy and The Minerals Policy. The researcher also analyzed The 1995
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Constitution of Uganda the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act cap 150
(PEPA), The Petroleum (refining, conversion, transmission and midstream) Act of
2013, the petroleum (exploration, development and production) Act, (NEA).
The researcher considered the purposes of the law and the main goals of the policy,
the strengths and weaknesses of the provisions that relate to petroleum and also
considered instances where the law has not been implemented.
This paper makes recommendations concerning the necessary adjustments in the
petroleum related laws and policies, to ensure that oil is efficiently and effectively
managed for the benefit of Ugandans.
Description
A research report submitted to the School of Law in Partial
Fulfillment for the Award of Bachelors Degree in Laws
at Kampala International University.
Keywords
Oil Uganda, Legal Perspective, Prevention