Yesterday the government of Uganda finally succumbed to pressure and released the Production Sharing Agreements (PSA) for the country’s oil program in the Albertine region.
The agreements were tabled to the Ugandan Parliament but what was of concern the minister of energy ask the MPs not to disclose some parts of the agreement saying they could harm business for companies involved.
Most MPs outrightly said they would not leave anything unreported tot their constituents who have waited for years since exploration begun to know much about the new found country’s resource. This disclosure is not the victory, we have to consistently analyse all issues covered in the agreements and the hard job begins now.
As one journalist Charles Mwangushya of Daily Monitor said “this is a partial victory.” Mwangushya together with Angelo Izama , three years ago, in May of 2007 started the process of trying to force the government to make the agreements public. They are continuing to their efforts to ensure courts grant full disclosure of the petroleum program under the Access to Information law after losing the first petition
As the MPs scrutinise the agreements, I hope we the Ugandan media take part in this scrutiny.
Rosebell Kagumire 