Promoting EITI in Uganda within an Access Rights Framework

In late 2007 RWI 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 Bunyoro communities in Uganda. This project entails building the capacity of the 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, the AFIEGO will: provide pro bono legal services and education to Banyoro in respect to land ownership, use and management to address existing and future oil challenges; facilitate Banyoro to amplify their voices in oil decision-making fora; and lobby and advocate for the integration of EITI principles in the formulation of oil policies and laws, and advocate for affirmative action for the Banyoro in respect to the oil revenues.

The discovery of oil in Bunyoro poses both a great opportunity and a threat for Uganda. The Banyoro of south western 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 compliment the work of other organizations working in Bunyoro by promoting EITI principles within the framework access rights of good governance as an integrated approach in dealing with the problems posed by the exploitation of natural resources.