Promoting EITI in Uganda within an Access Rights Framework

In late 2007 and also in 2009, RWI has provided support to the African Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO) to promote the understanding, appreciation, formulation, implementation and enforcement of Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in the management and use of oil resources by both central and local government, oil firms and local Banyoro communities in Uganda. This project entails building the capacity of all parties to give and access information, participate, negotiate, access justice, change and hold accountable institutions that are managing and using oil resources to improve their well-being. Specifically, AFIEGO will provide pro bono legal services and education to the Banyoro people in regards to land ownership, use and management to address existing and future oil challenges; help the Banyoro to amplify their voices in oil decision-making fora; lobby and advocate the integration of EITI principles in the formulation of oil policies and laws; and advocate affirmative action for the Banyoro in respect to the oil revenues.

The discovery of oil in the Bunyoro region poses both a great opportunity and a threat for Uganda. The Banyoro of southwestern Uganda are the original inhabitants of the areas where oil has recently been explored and where production is soon to begin. As the government of Uganda has already indicated, development and exploitation of the oil sub-sector will bring sizeable rents into government coffers, yet how these revenues will be spent and accounted for remain an important question for the country's future economic and human development.

Several organizations have attempted to build the capacity of Banyoro on how to deal with the challenges of oil; however, these interventions have failed to use EITI to support other principles of good governance that promote transparency and accountability in free and democratic societies. Indeed, there is no evidence that EITI principles within the framework of access rights have been understood and appreciated by government officials or civil society in Uganda to date. The thrust of this project therefore is to complement the work of other organizations working in Bunyoro by promoting EITI principles within the framework of access, rights and good governance as an integrated approach in dealing with the problems posed by new oil production.

This project began by applying research on contract transparency to the current Uganda law and subsequently built awareness among Uganda's oil-region NGOs and citizens through a large workshop about contract transparency. Concurrently, project research will be used to advocate directly with parliamentarians and government officials. Contract transparency is a relatively new issue in Uganda and there are few civil society organizations working on this topic. The lead project manager for this program is one of RWI's former Capacity Advancement Fellows. As a new producer, Uganda has the opportunity to set up a legal framework that will exemplify how transparency can facilitate strong resource revenue management.  A cornerstone of such transparency is ensuring that the contracts are made publicly available.

For more information on the activities of AFIEGO, please see www.afiego-ug.org/.