Uganda's Bunyoro Kingdom Wants Oil Revenues To Address Imbalances

11th Jun 2010 10:28

By Nicholas Bariyo Special to DOW JONES NEWSWIRES KAMPALA, Uganda (Dow Jones)--Uganda's Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom wants to be given legal rights to share oil revenues with the central government once production starts, to enable it address development bottlenecks that have caused historical imbalances in the kingdom, the Kingdom's panel on oil said in a report seen by Dow Jones Newswires Friday. According to the report, submitted to the government's committee on oil legislation, Bunyoro representatives said the Kingdom has historically lagged behind in development compared with the rest of the country, dating back to the colonial era. "Bunyoro deserves a special allocation of oil revenues...during the war against colonialism, Bunyoro's vast wealth was pillaged leading to untold poverty which the kingdom is still experiencing today," the panel said. Bunyoro Kitara was one of the ancient kingdoms of Uganda which resisted colonialism resulting into a nine-year war with the U.K. between 1890-99. At least two billion barrels of oil have been discovered in the Lake Albert basin located in Bunyoro and preparations are underway to develop the fields. However, the discovery has pitched Bunyoro against the central government with the former demanding internationally recognized oil revenue sharing agreements ahead of oil production. According to Ford Mirima, Bunyoro's spokesman, the kingdom is disappointed because most of its concerns have not been addressed in the oil bill, which is expected to be tabled in parliament next month. "It's very disappointing, we have reminded government several times but our views have been ignored," he said. According to the Kingdom report, government's failure to listen to the cultural institution could turn the discovery into a curse. "The distribution, or allocation, or failure to allocate oil revenues fairly has been the source of wars, instability, clashes between regions, states, central or federal and local governments, cultural institutions and or local communities," the Kingdom stated. However, according to government officials, the kingdom will benefit from royalties provided to local governments when production starts. -By Nicholas Bariyo, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires; 256-75-2624615 [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 11, 2010 05:28 ET (09:28 GMT)