In a bid to protect its environment from pollution, degradation and lack of investment, the Uganda national government says it was taking lessons from Nigeria and other African countries by enacting a law that prevents gas flaring and another that promotes investments in its oil and gas industry.
Ugandan Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Mrs. Ruth Ssentamu, disclosed this at the Africa Women in Energy International Summit with the theme ‘’Promoting Diversity and Partnership for Growth’’ held on the sidelines of the Oil Technology Conference(OTC) which held recently in Houston, Texas.
The World Bank had recently said that each year, gas flaring, burning of natural gas associated with oil extraction, emits more than 400 million tons of CO2 equivalent emissions, including methane and other pollutants.
Ssentamu said Uganda has learned from the mistakes of other oil producing countries, especially in Africa to develop its own oil and gas law by not falling into the mistakes of its predecessors.
She announced that Uganda will be producing its first oil in 2025, saying from the first day of oil production, the country has barred gas flaring and any form of environmental hazards associated with oil exploration and production. The Minister said the discovery of oil for any country should naturally be a blessing, warning that such blessing could however turn into a curse if it is not well prepared for. She added further that oil will be a curse if a country decided to abandon agriculture and rely solely on gains from hydrocarbon resources, then it could be a curse.
‘‘Uganda prepared very well by training Ugandans to be the ones to negotiate the terms, policies and conditions for its oil industry and they are now the ones developing the industry.
We put in place all the relevant laws to guide our operations. And one of those laws stipulates that all the revenue we get from oil will go into infrastructure development only and not for eating or payment of salaries,’’.
According to her, one of the infrastructure developments that the resources from oil will go into is electricity, saying the country needs electricity to industrialise.
She disclosed further that proceeds from oil revenue will be used to build refineries because the country would not be in the business of petroleum resources to export all of its oil.
On gender inclusion, she said the time is now ripe more than ever when women should be given prominent roles and front row roles in the management of the economy.
‘‘As a mother, women are naturally not selfish because they want every member of the family is happy in an equitable manner’’.
The Energy Minister added that women should take the driver’s seat in the energy sector, saying when there is poor electricity supply and the lack of cooking gas, it is the women tha bears the brunt of resorting to firewood to cook which shortens her life span.
