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    OPINION: Lessons We Should Learn So That Our Oil Does Not Turn Into A Curse – Unwanted Catastrophes In Uganda’s Oil Sector…

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    The writer Eng. Godfrey Mbagira

    Uganda’s oil may be a curse in future and this analogy is developed based on evidences from other producing countries across the globe.

    I dedicate this article to my Mentor and a good friend Mr. Byaruhanga Robert for his genuine support and rare found generosity and maximum respect to him because of his factual deep analysis and wide knowledge on the oil industry.

    First of all, as you are reading this article, keep memorizing this phase, “if it has happened elsewhere then it can happen here in Uganda”.

    Let us start with Venezuela as one of the classic examples that we need to look at.

    In the world of oil, Venezuela rose from rags to riches.

    Oil revenues for forty years enabled Venezuela to evolve from one of the most impoverished nations in the world to one of the wealthiest in Latin America.

    All of the country’s vital sectors improved; health care, education, employment, longevity, and Infant survival rates.

    Businesses prospered and the international banks flooded the country with loans that paid for vast infrastructure and industrial projects and for the highest skyscrapers.

    Then, oil prices crashed, and Venezuela could not repay its debts, the IMF imposed harsh austerity measures and pressured Caracas to support the corporatocracy in many other ways.

    President Museveni is very firm about having a refinery in Uganda but some saboteurs have shamelessly indicated that it is not commercially viable to invest in the refinery.

    Yet in 2009, the government of Uganda contracted Foster Wheeler Energy Limited from united Kingdom  to carry out a feasibility study on the development of a refinery in Uganda and the study confirmed the economic viability of refining petroleum in the country, and the recommendations were adopted in 2011 and a 60000 barrel per day refinery was to be located at Kabale in Buseruka subcounty, in Hoima District.

    The East African Crude Oil Pipeline construction budget for 1445 kilometers is 3.5 billion US dollars and the pipeline is planned to have a capacity of 216,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

    Tanzania will earn $12.7 of each barrel of oil transported through it and more than 2000 expatriates are expected in the country to work in oil and gas sector.

    It is a big shame that some of the planners of this country are fighting this venture.

    Uganda discovered oil way back in 1925 through a government Geologist Wayland who proved that it was commercially viable in 2006.

    The state should have invested heavily in these golden opportunities for its citizens, but it’s ridiculous that we changed the narrative from a refinery to the construction of a pipeline.

    I’m also wondering why the agreements are confidential and are kept secret.

    I heard some cases of irregularities in the compensation process where the original land owners were under-evaluated and others were forcefully evicted from their land.

    There is fear that these will result into serious resentments and conflicts in future from the natives.

    Allow me to cite another good example from Nigeria; Nigeria is a West African country and discovered her oil in 1956, exportation of oil began in 1958. Nigeria happens to be the tenth recognized oil exporting country in the world.

    The oil and gas industry contributes 95% of export earnings and 40% of Nigeria’s total revenue.  The oil economy in Nigeria is very important to the country, but the people of Nigeria still suffer from a corrupt government.

    People in Niger Delta are living in absolute poverty, the environment is devastated and extremely destroyed, illegal oil refineries are run on a large scale, government projects are sabotaged, oil pipe lines are destroyed every day, many militant groups are emerging, there are oil spills in water bodies regularly.

    This really makes me worried for my dear country Uganda because these incidents are highly expected to happen here.

    I was shocked that some big ministers were involved in corruption scandals during the signing of agreements. Unfortunately, these multibillion oil companies care only about making profits.

    On this issue also, allow me to cite another incident in Nigeria; Shell failed to clean up and court ordered it to compensate the affected people but up to now, no compensation has been done.

    Conflicts arose in 1990 between foreign oil companies and a number of Niger delta ethnic groups who felt they were being exploited particularly the Ogoni and the Ijaw, and these groups started sabotaging the developments including destroying pipelines.

    Eventually, shell was forced to vacate the land.

    These misunderstandings between oil companies and the natives started from land troubles. The oil companies then decided to employ foreign experts, leaving more local Nigerians unemployed.

    There has not been significant impact of crude oil production in improving environmental conditions for Nigerians.  This implies that while oil companies have profited immensely from Nigeria’s oil wealth, in the over 45 years of exploitation, local communities in the oil rich areas still live in poverty and with daily pollution caused by non-stop gas flaring.

    If Shell had invested and empowered the locals, it would not have experienced such a big sabotage, this should be an eye opener to Uganda.

    I have been listening to President Museveni on the issue of oil and he has consistently encouraged citizens to focus majorly on agriculture and other sectors because he understands the severe effects of Dutch disease that may result from not paying maximum attention to oil sector.

    Look at this other scenario, Texaco discovered petroleum in Ecuador’s Amazon region and a trans-Andean pipeline was built, then shortly, over a half million barrels of oil leaked into the fragile rain forest.

    During this same period, the indigenous cultures began fighting back. For instance, on May 7, 2003, a group of American lawyers representing more than thirty thousand indigenous Ecuadorian people filed a $1 billion lawsuit against ChevronTexaco Corp.

    The suit asserts that between 1971 and 1992, the oil giant dumped into open holes and rivers over four million gallons per day of toxic Waste water contaminated with oil, heavy metals, and carcinogens, and that the company left behind nearly 350 uncovered waste pits that continue to kill both people and animals.

    Ecuador is in far worse shape today than she was before they introduced her to the miracles of modern economics, banking, and engineering.

    Since 1970, during that period known euphemistically as the Oil Boom, the official poverty level grew from 50% to 70%, unemployment increased from 15 to 70%, and public debt increased from $240 million to $16 billion.

    Meanwhile, the share of national resources allocated to the poorest segments of the population declined from 20% to 6%

    Surprisingly Ecuador is in too much foreign debt and must devote an inordinate share of its national budget to paying this off, instead of using its capital to help the millions of its citizens and those officially classified as dangerously impoverished.

    The only way Ecuador can buy down its foreign obligations is by selling its rain forests to the oil companies.

    NOW, my biggest worry is on Uganda’s debt. I vehemently believe that we are already trapped, and as an analyst, allow me to make predictions on Uganda’s oil revenue allocations; approximately 75% will be taken by oil companies and the remaining 25%, three-quarters must go to paying off the Foreign debt.

    Most of the remainder will covers military and other government expenses which will leave about 2.5% for health, education and less than 3% will  go to the people who need the money most.

    My mentor, Mr. Robert told me that opportunity goes to those who are prepared.

    We must position ourselves for these opportunities. Oil and gas sector is big with numerous opportunities, let us tap into them.

     

    Composed by Eng. Godfrey Mbagira a social activist and a political analyst, founder of GOAM Youth voice Uganda.

    For God and My Country

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    MY MONEY

    KISAKA’S ROTTEN KCCA: Panic As More KCCA Bosses Face Arrest Over Giving Bribes, Asking For Sex In Exchange For Jobs…

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    KCCA ED Dorothy Kisaka (L) and troubled David Balondemu (R)

    As flamboyant city lawyer David Balondemu who also the Kampala District Land Board is still on remand at Luzira prison over multimillion fraud cases, the mighty Grapevine has learnt that more Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) bosses will soon face arrest over giving bribes and offering sex in exchange for jobs.

    On Wednesday, Buganda Road Grade One Magistrate Winnie Nankya held Balondemu’s application for bail while delivering her ruling on after an emergency application filed by the State led by Ivan Kyazze.

    State claimed that the accused person forged some of the documents his lawyers presented including some former East African Assemble legislator Fred Mukasa Mbidde.

    He based on the affidavit of the Chief Executive Officer of Kampala Hospital Limited Dr. Peter Kibuuka who claimed that the said document indicating that the accused person was going for surgery at their hospital was not authored by his hospital.

    State alleges that the accused together with others between the months of November 2022 and April 2023,  at Bloom Advocates with intent to defraud, obtained $553,000 from KG Unlimited LLC by falsely pretending that they were going to award it a contract of supplying agricultural drone sprayers and fertilizers which was false. Balondemu denied all the charges.

    Balondemu was re-arrested last week few weeks after being released from Luzira prison on allegations that between the months of March and November 2021 at the offices of Balondemu and Company Advocates along Parliamentary Avenue in Kampala City, he obtained US Dollars 600,000 by falsely pretending that they were selling 53 kilograms of Gold to Hyun UK Kim a Korean investor whereas not.

    Highly placed sources at Brig. Gen. Henry Isoke’s State House Anti-Corruption Unit revealed that Balondemu is one of the many bosses at KCCA who have been under investigation for the past two years.

    These sources boasted that all the people that Balondemu has been working with to defraud investors are going to be handled in piecemeal.

    A KCCA insider disclosed to theGrapevine that Balondemu still has over three criminal files set to be forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Justice Jane Frances Abodo for sanctioning and advised him not to waste his money and time on applying for several court bails.

    Sources said that very soon, another top boss at KCCA who is a lawyer is going to be arrested after DPP gathered overwhelming evidence that he paid a bribe in exchange for the job.

    “He is currently sitting on one of the boards at KCCA but to be appointed, he paid Shs70m to one of the political heads at KCCA. He also gave another Shs40m to the same political head which he shared with some KCCA City Hall councilors to soften his way to the office.

    This is the reason why there is a lot of corruption at KCCA because such people want to recover their money through fraudulent deals including giving away public land,” a source said.

    Sources said that politicians at KCCA are using their Personal Assistants to receive bribe.

    They gave the example of a Chinese national who has already recorded a statement at State House Anti-Corruption Unit narrating how a Personal Assistant to a politician at City Hall defrauded him of over Shs3bn.

    He was taken to his boss’s office at City Hall to show him that even the boss knows what was going on.

    Detectives are also investigating a male boss at KCCA technical wing who has been made it a business to sleep with young girls especially those from the university after promising them jobs.

    Sources said that the said boss was using the same tricks at one of the government agency where he was working before joining KCCA.

    In her report, the Inspector General of Government Beti Namisango Kamya declared ED Dorothy Kisaka led KCCA as one of the top government agencies with high levels of corruption.

    Kampala affairs State Minister Joseph Kabuye Kyoffatogabye recently pined top technical wing bosses of fueling the vice by sleeping on the job to buy popularity among the population.

     

    By Sengooba Alirabaki

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    CELEBRITY GOSSIP

    Lubaga South Legislator Mukasa On Suicide Watch After Landlord Throws Him Out Of Rented House, Puts His Properties On Sale To Survive …

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    Lubaga South legislator Aloysius Mukasa

    Flamboyant Lubaga South legislator Aloysius Talton Gold Mukasa is on suicide watch with money lenders breathing down his neck.

    His woes escalated recently when his landlord threatened to throw him out of his house along Entebbe road over delayed rent payments.

    Mukasa is among the National Unity Platform(NUP) legislators who have not enjoyed their stay in parliament and is always on the run, hiding from moneylenders to elude arrest him over none payment.

    His woes started in Court where he spent millions of shillings to settle the legal battle instituted against him by his immediate political rival Princess Eugenia Nassolo who was contesting his education and accusing him of committing election offences.

    Nasolo hired some of the best lawyers in Kampala who included; Caleb Alaka, Samuel Muyizi Mulindwa and Kenneth Paul Kakande who convinced her to settle the matter out of Court, where a juicy deal was reached.

    This deal punched big holes in Mukasa’s pockets.

    Mukasa also hired Justine Ssemuyaba another serious lawyer who he paid huge sums of money in legal fees to represent him.

    It should also be noted that Mukasa was among the candidates who spent a lot of money during campaigns and sources close to him claim that he spent more than Shs5bn in campaigns including facilitating the process of winning the NUP ticket.

    Sources divulged that Mukasa thought that he was going to get a lot of money in politics by cutting deals which would help him to cover the gaps in his businesses among which included FACO which is dealing in solving the problems of manhood among men, changing women’s figures and DX4.

    However, news reaching our political desk shows that the landlord on the building which has been housing FACO for years in Ndeeba along Masaka road has thrown him out of his building over delayed rent payments.

    Sources added that Mukasa first sold his primary school and used part of the money to pay the loans to survive money lenders who were on his neck.

    Recently, he sold his Ambulance car which he bought during the campaigns to Rhino Funeral Management Company.

    He also sold the vehicle truck which he bought to help his people to solve the problem of water especially at the functions and sources claim that he sold it to Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi the Butambala County legislator at Shs53m.

    Kivumbi was not interested in the track but he bought it to save his fellow legislator and he added it to his two water tracks in the constituency.

    Sources said that the big problem that Mukasa currently has is to settle the landlord at home because he is going to be embarrassed if he throws him out of his house with his wife and entire family.

    His competitors claim that Mukasa was among the NUP legislators who were facilitated by the State to infiltrate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu’s camp during the 2021 general election.

    theGrapevine made a number of efforts to talk to Mukasa for a comment by making several phone calls to his five known phone numbers but they were all not going through.

     

    By Levi Yashayahu

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    MY MONEY

    City Businessman, King Ronnie Court Battle For UNRA Shs6bn Compensation Cash Goes To Court Of Appeal…

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    Dr. Kasasa (L) and the Kabaka of Buganda Ronald Muwenda Mutebi (R)

    The Lands Division of the High Court judge Flavia Nassuna Matovu has allowed controversial city businessman Dr. Muhammad Buwule Kasasa to appeal against her ruling at the Court of Appeal.

    In her ruling, justice Nassuna noted that there are substantial questions of law that warrant consideration by the upper court.

    She explained that it is fair for her to allow Dr. Kasasa to appeal her ruling to the court of appeal and argue out his case and see whether he can convince the Court of Appeal justices to allow his application to withdraw Shs6bn which he is fighting for with the Kabaka of Buganda Ronald Muwenda Mutebi’s family.

    In July, Justice Nassuna dismissed Kasasa’s application on ground that he cannot allow him to withdraw the Shs6bn which Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) deposited on the bank accounts of the judiciary.

    UNRA secured a court order to deposit the money to the judiciary bank accounts after both Dr. Kasasa and King Ronnie’s family claimed ownership of the land at Mutungo hill where Kampala-Jinja Expressway which is under construction is going to pass.

    In his application, Kasasa insisted that he is the rightful owner of the 640 acres of land comprising Kyadondo Block 237 plots 178, 388 at Mutungo in Nakawa Division Kampala City.

    Dr. Kasasa through his lawyers lead by Simon Kizza claims that they defeated King Ronnie’s family who also double as the Administrators of Sir Edward Mutesa Walugembe’s Estate who are; Prince David Kintu Wasajja, Princess Dorothy Nasolo and Princess Sarah Kagere at the Court of Appeal.

    He submited that Justice Elizabeth Musoke, Justice Christopher Gashirabake and Justice Eva Luswata declared him the rightful owner of the contested land which gives him the green light to get the compensation because King Ronnie’s family did not appeal the decision.

    He stated in his application that he is very sick and he needs the said money to get medication abroad and to cater for his family.

    However, King Ronnie’s family lawyers of K&K Advocates led by Usaama Sebuufu protested the application.

     

    By Grapevine Reporter

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