Avoiding the resource curse : spotlight on oil in Uganda

Uganda has made significant progress in codifying the rights of access to information (ATI) and participation and toward putting in place the institutional infrastructure, including a regulatory framework for the oil sector. Political roll-backs that are re-concentrating power in the executive branch of government and the growing scale of known oil reserves however, may jeopardize these advances. This paper reviews the Petroleum Bill in terms of exemptions to ATI. The government has not released to the public, or even to Parliament, important information regarding the oil sector, including the five Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs) with oil exploration companies.