[Ugnet] This is very interesting
MPs order ministers to resign over oil Posted Wednesday, October 12 2011 at 00:00 In Summary Ministers Mbabazi, Kutesa and Onek asked to step aside as MPs vote to institute an ad hoc committee to investigate claims of mismanagement and bribery in oil sector. All ministers who were implicated in corrupt dealings with foreign oil companies allegedly involving billions of shillings in kickbacks must vacate their positions in government with immediate effect to pave way for investigations, MPs resolved late last night. This bipartisan resolution, which appears unprecedented, brought down the curtain on to two days of a special House sitting called to discuss the country’s oil sector. Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi along with Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kutesa and former Energy Minister and now minister for Internal Affairs Hilary Onek have been asked to step aside. While the original motion had proposed that the government sets up a judicial commission of inquiry, MP Rosemary Sseninde (NRM) successfully moved an amendment, saying an ad hoc committee of Parliament instead investigates the matter. The affected ministers are expected to leave public office until the committee to be established when Parliament reconvenes on October 25 has tabled its findings within three months. Mr Onek, who made desperate appeals to save himself, told Daily Monitor that he was going to resign today. Mr Kutesa, who told the House in the morning that he was innocent, did not return in the afternoon and the resolution was passed in his absence while Mbabazi told Daily Monitor that he is not going to resign. Mbabazi said: “I have no problem with investigations because I have nothing to hide but to resign we are going to have chaos if people are going to resign because someone has made baseless allegations.” Attorney General Peter Nyombi tried to save the ministers but in vain. Mr Nyombi told the House that there was no law within which ministers were being asked to vacate their offices. But Geoffrey Ekanya (FDC, Tororo) said Article 114 of the Constitution which speaks to parliamentary approval of ministerial appointments can still be the basis upon which they are asked to leave office. *Speaker applauded* Army representative Gen. Elly Tumwiine said: “Enough is enough on corruption; there is no smoke without fire. People have different consciences; there are those who have their ego beyond the national interest, I don’t see any problem in resigning a job once you’re suspected. Take the Army (UPDF) whenever our member was accused of corruption they have to leave their post [until] they were tried and this is the practice the world over. It’s not wrong to make a mistake but it’s a mistake to repeat a mistake.” Share This Story 290Sharehttp://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.monitor.co.ug%2FNews%2FNational%2F-%2F688334%2F1254014%2F-%2Fbi1ytcz%2F-%2Findex.htmlt=MPs%20order%20ministers%20to%20resign%20over%20oil%C2%A0-%20National%C2%A0%7Cmonitor.co.ugsrc=sp While Mbabazi claimed that Speaker had not given the Executive the opportunity to mount a defence, Ms Rebecca Kadaga who was praised by members for showing patriotism and impartiality in the handling of debate, said: “It’s unfair to claim that I didn’t give you the opportunity when you had the whole day and this morning you decided to talk about different things.” Other resolutions included a decision that the confidentiality clauses in any future oil contracts with foreign companies be struck down and any future attempts to drag government to foreign courts on matters relating to Uganda’s oil be proscribed. In a debate which began at 11am ended at 10:15pm, Parliament also resolved that a moratorium on executing oil contracts and transactions be placed on the government until the necessary laws have been passed by Parliament to give effect to the National Oil and Gas policy. The laws must be tabled in Parliament within 30 days. Parliament also resolved that the government withholds consent to a pending transaction between Tullow Oil, Total and CNOOC before capital gains tax assessed by URA payable by Tullow are paid in advance and a report to that effect be made to Parliament. They further decided that the government should have a 15 per cent stake in all oil transactions, and asked for accountability for penalty for late payments. Parliament also agreed that the government produces all agreements it has executed with all companies in the oil industry including the memorandum of understanding executed between Uganda Revenue Authority and Tullow Oil in March 2011. A review of all Production Sharing Agreements already executed for purposes of harmonising them with the law and that an account of all revenues so far received from the oil sector be made to Parliament within seven days was further agreed. The government was also directed to account for expenditure made from oil revenues and a moratorium be placed on any further expenditure. Meanwhile,
[Ugnet] Unity, Peace, Prosperity Above All Care/Love for Fellow Human Beings Always!
*Thank you Ikanos Doyen! I did not celebrate October 9th but I have found
your **posting and the lovely items you shared with all of us. You are
amazing!*
*Thanks so much!*
*Assumpta Mary Kintu
*
-- Forwarded message --
From: ikanos doyen ikanos.do...@gmail.com
Date: Sun, Oct 9, 2011 at 9:07 AM
*Subject: {UAH} FWD. WELCOME! TO THE 49TH UGANDA OCT.9 INDEPENDENCE
CELEBRATIONS.
*To: ugandans-at-he...@googlegroups.com
WELCOME! ALL, TO *THE 49TH*
UG. OCT. 9 INDEPENDENCE
*YEAR 2011 Celebrations Music of Welcome -
Herehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkPvPVm7fhs
*
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkPvPVm7fhs***http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkPvPVm7fhs
*http://visitlira.onwebsite.org*** http://visitlira.onwebsite.org/
More Lira Music @
*http://luoradio.onwebsite.org/*http://luoradio.onwebsite.org/
**
*Welcome!* Too To Revisit:
1 * Uganda *Transition from British* Rule To 1962 Independence
Here @
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RMGZH7GlTs*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RMGZH7GlTs
**
*2 * The battle cry* song for FREEDOMS on
herehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5mmFPyDK_8feature=related
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5mmFPyDK_8feature=related*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5mmFPyDK_8feature=related
* *
**
*3 * God's Truth* Marching Home -
Herehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9kccPwr0A4feature=watch_response
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9kccPwr0A4feature=watch_response*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9kccPwr0A4feature=watch_response
* *
**
*4 * Colour pomp* at Ug. Independence year 2010 celebrations
*here* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ft-7MGdOIQfeature=related @
*
ht**tp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ft-7MGdOIQfeature=related*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ft-7MGdOIQfeature=related
**
*5 * MARCHING ON* FOR UGANDA OCT. 9 INDEPENDENCE, YEAR
**2010 IN JINJA HERE -
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yryxkE96nGk*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yryxkE96nGk
**
**
* *
*HAPPY 49th UGANDA INDEPENDENCE *
*DAY, YR. 2011 CELEBRATIONS IN LIRA*
*here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lira,_Uganda -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lira,_Uganda*
**
**
In the *U.P.C.* spirits of *U*nity,
*P*eace + Prosperity *C*harity
From all of us *here* http://upcuganda.0catch.com/ @
*http://upcuganda.0catch.com* http://upcuganda.0catch.com/
**
*N.B. THANKU!*
*our Ug. motherland mothers *
*for carrying us, through it all *
*- **here* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOBm15AhC2Efeature=related* or
**here* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6V3bMNktz7Efeature=related* **
here* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32ZI1yWUdNcfeature=related*.*
___
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[Ugnet] Fw: Wikileaks: ALLEGATIONS OF GHOST VOTERS HAUNT
- Forwarded Message - From: Ssemakula james_ssemak...@yahoo.com To: buganda...@listserv.tamu.edu Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2011 8:22 PM Subject: Wikileaks: ALLEGATIONS OF GHOST VOTERS HAUNT Viewing cable 09KAMPALA1323, UGANDA: ALLEGATIONS OF GHOST VOTERS HAUNT If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs Understanding cables Every cable message consists of three parts: * The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was. * The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject. * The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference. Discussing cables If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #09KAMPALA1323. Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin 09KAMPALA1323 2009-11-17 06:30 2011-08-30 01:44 CONFIDENTIAL Embassy Kampala VZCZCXRO9945 RR RUEHRN RUEHROV DE RUEHKM #1323/01 3210630 ZNY C ZZH R 170630Z NOV 09 FM AMEMBASSY KAMPALA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1953 INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GEC O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KAMPALA 001323 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/16/2019 TAGS: PGOV KDEM KCOR UG SUBJECT: UGANDA: ALLEGATIONS OF GHOST VOTERS HAUNT ELECTORAL COMMISSION REF: A. KAMPALA 01166 ¶B. KAMPALA 01196 ¶C. KAMPALA 01275 ¶D. KAMPALA 01278 ¶E. KAMPALA 01097 ¶F. KAMPALA 00979 Classified By: Pol/Econ Chief Aaron Sampson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 1.(C) Summary: An internal report by the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party accuses the Electoral Commission of conspiring with opposition leaders to stack Uganda's voter registry with ghost voters and phantom villages. The report - commissioned by President Museveni and Security Minister Amama Mbabazi, and drafted by Mbabazi's daughter Nina - could lead to the dissolution of the Electoral Commission (EC), which is regarded by opposition parties, civil society, and international donors as favorable to the NRM. The NRM's assessment concludes the EC favors the opposition. On November 11, Nina Mbabazi predicted a massive EC shake-up, complained of NRM infighting, and claimed Museveni is looking for someone to run in his place as President in 2011. End Summary. - --- NRM Declares Open Season on Own Electoral Commission - --- ¶2. (SBU) On October 22, Uganda's main opposition newspaper published excerpts of an internal NRM report accusing core EC officials of conspiring with opposition parties to place ghost voters and phantom villages on Uganda's voter rolls. Opposition parties have identified a new EC as a prerequisite for their participation in the 2011 elections because they view the current EC as pro-NRM (refs. A, B and C). Various iterations of the NRM report accuse the EC of placing 500,000 to one million pro-opposition ghost voters on the voter registry to force the NRM's Presidential candidate into a second round election run off in 2011. The report singles out EC Secretary Sam Rwakoojo, Legal Council Alfred Okello Oryem, and a handful of mid-level officials for corruption, fraud and conflict of interest, and recommends firing Rwakoojo forthwith as he as done the most to damage (the) NRM. ¶3. (SBU) Several diplomatic missions subsequently received copies of an anonymous letter, allegedly from a disgruntled EC accountant, purporting to offer further evidence of Rwakoojo and Okello Oryem's misdeeds. Dated October 26 and addressed to Security Minister and NRM Secretary General Mbabazi, the letter accuses Rwakoojo, Okello Oryem, and EC Chairman Badru Kiggundu of conspiring to lose legal cases against the EC in order to pocket percentages of court ordered payouts to claimants, fixing inflated procurement contracts, accepting bribes, and promoting female EC staff members in return for sex. NRM:
[Ugnet] Fw: WIKILEAKS: Corruption in Uganda's nascent oil industry
- Forwarded Message - From: Ssemakula james_ssemak...@yahoo.com To: buganda...@listserv.tamu.edu Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2011 8:31 PM Subject: WIKILEAKS: Corruption in Uganda's nascent oil industry Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin 09KAMPALA1356 2009-12-03 06:13 2011-08-30 01:44 CONFIDENTIAL Embassy Kampala VZCZCXRO6030 RR RUEHRN RUEHROV DE RUEHKM #1356/01 3370613 ZNY C ZZH R 030613Z DEC 09 FM AMEMBASSY KAMPALA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1987 INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 1002 RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GEThursday, 03 December 2009, 06:13 C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KAMPALA 001356 SIPDIS EO 12958 DECL: 11/29/2019 TAGS PGOV, EPET, ECON, EINV, ENRG, KCOR, UG SUBJECT: UGANDA: CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS ACCOMPANY ARRIVAL OF MAJOR OIL FIRMS REF: A. 08 KAMPALA 1648 B. KAMPALA 366 Classified By: Econ Officer Don Cordell for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: ExxonMobil interest in Tullow Oil’s Ugandan operations, and Italian oil giant ENI’s attempt to purchase Heritage Oil’s local holdings, mark a clear shift from exploration to the beginnings of production. The remote location of Uganda’s oil wells, the difficult chemistry of the oil within, and President Museveni’s insistence on building a domestic refinery are pricing smaller firms like Heritage and Tullow Oil out of the Ugandan market. Unfortunately, major oil company interest in Uganda also triggered renewed corruption allegations as U.K.-based Tullow Oil suspects Ugandan leaders of conspiring with ENI to strip Tullow of its most profitable oil exploration license. Failing to resolve this issue could jeopardize Tullow’s standing in Uganda and set the stage for further oil sector corruption. End Summary. --- The High Cost of Ugandan Oil Production --- ¶2. (U) The estimated 1.5-2 billion recoverable barrels of oil along the shores of Lake Albert in western Uganda could transform Uganda into one of the world’s the top 50 oil producers, surpassing other African oil nations like Gabon and Equatorial Guinea (ref. A). Tullow Oil, which is currently the largest oil exploration company in Uganda, estimates that non-revenue generating production could begin as early as summer of 2010, with production gradually increasing to around 10,000 barrels per day over the next three to six years. Tullow predicts a peak production rate of around 150,000 barrels per day within ten years. ¶3. (U) A number of costly challenges hamper Ugandan oil exploration and production. Oil companies operating in western Uganda must navigate complicated land tenure and property rights issues. Offshore production on Lake Albert poses other cross-border problems as much of the oil beneath the lake is likely on Congolese territory. Ecological and environmental concerns add another complication, as the oil is located is one of ten most ecologically biodiverse areas in the world. Protecting western Uganda’s extremely fragile ecology - and burgeoning wildlife tourism industry - while drilling for oil presents an enormous challenge for Uganda’s oil sector. ¶4. (U) Although classified as “sweet” crude, the oil’s high wax content gives it the consistency of shoe polish. An eventual export pipeline must therefore heat the oil to keep it flowing. Industry experts estimate pipeline costs at $3-4 billion. Transporting oil from the fields to market will also require major transportation infrastructure investments over the next five years in areas such as road and rail construction and improvement. On-site infrastructure, such as power production and waste management, is also needed. ¶5. (SBU) President Museveni’s requirement for a domestic oil refinery further increases production costs. Museveni believes value addition is the only way to develop Uganda’s economy. The President also wants to reduce Uganda’s reliance on fuel supply lines from Kenya and avoid a repeat - for national security reasons - of the crippling fuel crisis that hit Uganda following 2007/2008 elections in Kenya. Ugandan officials are eyeing a 200,000 barrel per day refinery. Oil company experts maintain that nothing larger than a 50,000 barrel per day refinery - estimated at $5-6 billion - is economically feasible. A smaller refinery could supply the oil demands of Uganda, Southern Sudan, eastern Congo, and Rwanda and still leave the bulk of Ugandan oil for export. The Ministry of Energy recently issued a tender for a refinery feasibility study. The tender is financed by the Norwegian government. Two U.S. firms bid on the tender, but neither made the Ministry’s short list. - Enter Major Oil Companies - ¶6. (SBU) The smaller international oil companies active in Uganda - Tullow, Heritage, Dominion, and Neptune -
[Ugnet] Fw: Wikileaks: DISTRICT PROLIFERATION AS POLITICAL PATRONAGE IN UGANDA
- Forwarded Message - From: Ssemakula james_ssemak...@yahoo.com To: buganda...@listserv.tamu.edu Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2011 8:26 PM Subject: Wikileaks: DISTRICT PROLIFERATION AS POLITICAL PATRONAGE IN UGANDA Viewing cable 09KAMPALA1326, UGANDA: DISTRICT PROLIFERATION AS POLITICAL PATRONAGE Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin 09KAMPALA1326 2009-11-20 05:08 2011-08-30 01:44 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Kampala VZCZCXRO3431 RR RUEHGI RUEHRN RUEHROV DE RUEHKM #1326/01 3240508 ZNR U ZZH R 200508Z NOV 09 FM AMEMBASSY KAMPALA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1960 INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE RHMFIUU/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GEUNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KAMPALA 001326 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM PREL UG SUBJECT: DISTRICT PROLIFERATION AS POLITICAL PATRONAGE ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On November 11, Uganda revealed plans to create seven new administrative districts in addition to the 14 districts already proposed for 2009 and 2010. Opposition parties and civil society groups have demanded a halt to creating new districts until after the February 2011 elections, citing concerns over their cost and role as political patronage tools. European donors have also expressed concern, as each new district spreads their budget support that much thinner. The Ugandan government, however, continues to reward battleground constituencies with new districts and new government jobs. End Summary. -- District Proliferation -- ¶2. (U) On November 11, Minister of Lands Adolf Mwesige asked Parliament to approve the creation of seven new administrative districts on top of the 14 districts already slated for creation in 2009 and 2010. If approved, this will bring the total number of administrative districts to 101, or three times the 33 districts existing when Museveni took power in 1986. The government argues that new districts will bring government services closer to people as many rural Ugandans live hours from the seat of their local district headquarters. ¶3. (SBU) Presidential advisor Moses Byaruhanga told the Embassy that Uganda is trying to carve out districts for discrete ethnic groups so citizens can conduct local government business in their respective local languages. He said the plan would also enable teachers to use local languages for instruction in primary schools. He dismissed the view that trying to reduce local administrative structures to single homogenous ethnic units could actually exacerbate ethnic divisions. ¶4. (SBU) However, the re-districting process is already fueling conflict as groups scramble to claim resources and carve out their own local governments. Ongoing discussions to split the Tororo district in eastern Uganda along ethnic lines is exacerbating tensions between the area's ethnic Iteso and Jopadhola populations. Likewise, Acholi leaders in northern Uganda have accused the Jonam community of land grabbing to create a new district. Both sides met in Nebbi, just north of Lake Albert, on November 11 to calm fears of violence. Unfunded and Unnecessary ¶5. (SBU) According to the Commissioner for Local Councils, Patrick Mutabwire, all of the 39 districts created between 2005 and 2009 depend on the central government to cover 90 percent of their expedenditures. At the moment, government service provision in new districts remains poor or nonexistent. ¶6. (U) Viewing the creation of the new districts as a Presidential re-election tool, opposition parties have repeated demanded a moritorium on new districts until after the February 2011 elections. The Director of Uganda's NGO Forum, Richard Ssewakiryanga, argued that instead of benefiting local populations, new unfunded districts are further impoverishing them, and added that Ugandans want roads and doctors, not new administrative districts. European donors responsible for providing the Ugandan government with budget support have also expressed concern, as the creation of each new district spreads finite financial resources thinner and means donor funds fo for administrative rather than programmatic costs. Will More Districts Mean More NRM Votes? ¶7. (SBU) According to the Commisioner for Local Councils, new district start up costs range from USD 300,000 for smaller districts to USD 1 million for larger ones, and each new district employs between 250 to 500 local government employees/ new districts are attractive job creation mechanisms for the Ugandan government. These appointments provide a chance for the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) to reward specific constituencies and individuals, or entice opposition members back into the NRM camp. ¶8. (U) On November 14 an editorial in the
[Ugnet] Fw: Wikileaks: Mbabazi Onek were bribed to get oil flowing ....
- Forwarded Message - From: Ssemakula james_ssemak...@yahoo.com To: buganda...@listserv.tamu.edu Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2011 8:36 PM Subject: Wikileakes: Mbabazi Onek were bribed to get oil flowing Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin 09KAMPALA1401 2009-12-17 11:37 2011-08-30 01:44 SECRET Embassy Kampala VZCZCXRO9001 RR RUEHRN RUEHROV DE RUEHKM #1401/01 3511138 ZNY S ZZH R 171137Z DEC 09 FM AMEMBASSY KAMPALA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0017 INFO IGAD COLLECTIVE RWANDA COLLECTIVE RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 0002 RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0001S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 KAMPALA 001401 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/12/17 TAGS: PREL EPET ECON EIND PGOV KCOR UG SUBJECT: UGANDA: TULLOW SEES CORRUPTION IN OIL SALE REF: KAMPALA 1356 CLASSIFIED BY: Donald Cordell, Economic Officer, State; REASON: 1.4(B), (D) ¶1. (C) Summary: Tullow Oil claims senior Ugandan government officials were compensated to support the sale of a partner/rival firm's exploration and production rights to Italian oil company ENI (ref. A). Tullow Vice President for Africa Tim O'Hanlon identified Security Minister and National Resistance Movement (NRM) Secretary General Amama Mbabazi and Energy and Mineral Development Minister Hilary Onek as Ugandan officials who benefited from the sale of production rights by Heritage Oil and Gas to ENI. He requested U.S. assistance in ensuring the open and transparent sale of oil assets. If Tullow's allegations are true - and we believe they are - then this is a critical moment for Uganda's nascent oil sector. The Heritage-ENI sale will likely derail any potential partnership between Tullow and Exxon Mobil and have profound consequences for transparency and openness in the future management of the industry. End Summary. - Seeking Partners - ¶2. (U) On 14 December, Tim O'Hanlon, Tullow Oil's Regional Vice President for Africa met with Ambassador Lanier to discuss recent developments in oil exploration in Uganda (see ref. A for background). O'Hanlon explained that the $10+ billion required to produce, refine, and export oil from Uganda far exceeds the financial capacity of Tullow and other mid-sized exploration companies currently working in Uganda. Tullow is therefore considering selling a portion of its Uganda holdings to a larger international oil partner, and has unofficially short listed three major companies as potential partners - including Exxon Mobil, Total (France), and the Chinese National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC). After Tullow concludes its process of selecting a partner, likely in January or February 2010, Tullow will present the bids to the Uganda government and work with Ugandan officials to gain approval of the much larger oil partner. - An Oily Business - ¶3. (S) In contrast, O'Hanlon said the recent effort by Heritage Oil and Gas to sell its oil exploration and production license to ENI was apparently a corrupt back door deal. O'Hanlon observed that since news of the ENI sale broke, even Ministers unrelated to oil (such as Minister of State for Fisheries Fred Mukisa) have issued public statements supporting ENI. O'Hanlon alleged that Security Minister Mbabazi and Energy Minister Onek received payments from Heritage and/or ENI in exchange for their support. O'Hanlon referred to Minister Mbabazi, who facilitated an August 2009 meeting between ENI and Tullow, as ENI's patron in Uganda, and said ENI created a shell company in London - TKL Holdings - through frontmen Mark Christian and Moses Seruje - to funnel money to Mbabazi. O'Hanlon also noted what he described as Onek's recent unsolicited grandstanding before Parliament in support of ENI, and similar statements of support during a recent Indo-African energy conference in New Dehli. Onek made impossible claims at the Indo-African conference regarding ENI's ability to export 100,000 - 200,000 barrels per day within two years. Comment: These statements of support by Onek appear completely inappropriate given that the deal is still technically pending. End comment. ¶4. (C) O'Hanlon said ENI's Uganda deal is part of a wider effort, facilitated by Heritage, to gain control of all oil fields on both sides of Lake Albert. In addition to its exploration blocks in Uganda, Tullow claims to have exploration rights on the Congolese side of Lake Albert. O'Hanlon said Tullow's exploration efforts on the DRC side of Lake Albert are hampered by Tullow's refusal to pay off key Congolese officials, including President Laurent Kabila. O'Hanlon added that Heritage recently offered to help Tullow take KAMPALA 1401 002 OF 002 care of problems on the Congolese side in order to begin exploration. Tullow refused, according to O'Hanlon. ¶5. (C) O'Hanlon concluded by asking the U.S. to help bring these
[Ugnet] Fw: Wikileaks: ACCU Director's life threatened for revealing corrupt official, i.e. Mbabazi, Mu7
- Forwarded Message - From: Ssemakula james_ssemak...@yahoo.com To: buganda...@listserv.tamu.edu Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2011 8:43 PM Subject: Wikileaks: ACCU Director's life threatened for revealing corrupt official, i.e. Mbabazi, Mu7 Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin 10KAMPALA13 2010-01-07 11:36 2011-08-30 01:44 CONFIDENTIAL Embassy Kampala C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KAMPALA 13 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/01/07 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KCOR KDEM UG SUBJECT: UGANDA: USG SUPPORTED ANTI-CORRUPTION ACTIVIST THREATENED REF: 08 KAMPALA 01484 CLASSIFIED BY: Aaron Sampson, Pol/Econ Chief, State, Pol/Econ; REASON: 1.4(B), (D) ¶1. (C) Summary: The Director of the Anti-Corruption Coalition Uganda (ACCU), Jasper Tumuhimbise, went into hiding in late December after publishing a Fame and Shame booklet on government corruption. Funded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation's (MCC) anti-corruption threshold program, ACCU's booklet is a public perception survey in which Security Minister and National Resistance Movement (NRM) Secretary General Amama Mbabazi was perceived as Uganda's most corrupt public official. Tumuhimbise went into hiding after he and ACCU staff received threatening telephone calls and a visit from security personnel seeking information on the ACCU's international donors. On December 24, Tumuhimbise told PolOff that security forces followed him from the eastern town of Soroti to Kampala. He blames Mbabazi for the intimidation of ACCU staff. End Summary. - ACCU's Book of Fame and Shame - ¶2. (U) The ACCU is a coalition of approximately 60 local anti-corruption organizations. In 2009, the ACCU received approximately $25,000 in MCC funds to survey local perceptions of government corruption, publish an annual book of Fame and Shame, and initiate an anti-corruption activist of the year award. The ACCU says the booklet is intended to praise anti-corruption heroes and force the shamed persons to reflect on themselves; the institutions they serve; their country and their level of patriotism. Of the 1,772 survey respondents, 30% identified Security Minister Mbabazi as Uganda's most corrupt public official due to his role in the 2008 Temangalo land scandal that cost the National Social Security Fund approximately $6 million (ref. A). President Museveni placed second on the list of shame, with 21% the vote, for failing to hold Mbabazi, Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa, and senior National Resistance Movement (NRM) leaders accountable for corruption. Other shamed NRM officials include Trade Minister Kahinda Otafiire, Public Works Minister John Nasasira, and former Health Ministers Mike Mukula and Jim Muhwezi. ¶3. (U) Museveni also made the ACCU's list of fame as an unwavering freedom fighter and anti-corruption activist. Disgraced ex-Inspector General of Government Faith Mwondha, opposition figure Norbert Mao, and First Lady Janet Museveni topped the fame list. Survey respondents also positively perceived Ethics and Integrity Minister Nsaba Buturo, who is one of the most vocal proponents of Uganda's draft anti-homosexuality legislation, for his outspokenness against corruption. Minister Buturo presided over the booklet's launching ceremony. The ACCU selected James Ogoola, Principal Judge of the High Court of Uganda, as the Anti-Corruption Activist of the Year for 2009. - --- The Shamed Self-Incriminate Themselves Further - --- ¶4. (C) On December 19, Mbabazi criticized the ACCU's booklet and called Tumuhimbise an idiot on a local radio program. On December 21, Mbabazi's niece, Susan Katono, emailed a document criticizing the ACCU's motives, methodology and findings to EconOff. Katono compiled the document from comments sent to her by senior government officials with the understanding that she would forward the information to the U.S. Mission. Katono indicated that Minister Mbabazi and other NRM leaders were unhappy with the booklet. ¶5. (C) On December 23, local media reported that Tumuhimbise was in hiding, that ACCU staff were receiving threatening phone calls, and that security officials questioned ACCU employees on the organization's sources of funding. Tumuhimbise confirmed this KAMPALA 0013 002 OF 002 information to PolOff on December 24, adding that he left Kampala on the advice of friends only to return after discovering that security services were shadowing him upcountry as well. Tumuhimbise said a security vehicle tailed him from the eastern town of Soroti back to Kampala. Having spearheaded the ACCU's lawsuit against the NSSF over Mbabazi's Temangalo land scandal in 2008, Tumuhimbise said he is accustomed to menacing phone calls, but that
[Ugnet] Fw: Wikileaks: M7 MIXES TOXIC BREW OF ETHNICITY AND OIL IN W. UGANDA
- Forwarded Message - From: Ssemakula james_ssemak...@yahoo.com To: buganda...@listserv.tamu.edu Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2011 8:59 PM Subject: Wikileaks: M7 MIXES TOXIC BREW OF ETHNICITY AND OIL IN W. UGANDA Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin 09KAMPALA946 2009-08-19 13:52 2011-08-30 01:44 CONFIDENTIAL Embassy Kampala C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KAMPALA 000946 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/19/2019 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR KDEM EPET UG SUBJECT: MUSEVENI MIXES TOXIC BREW OF ETHNICITY AND OIL IN WESTERN UGANDA REF: KAMPALA 00366 Classified By: Pol/Econ Chief Aaron Sampson, Embassy Kampala, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary. An internal July 15 memo from Ugandan President Museveni has deepened the ethnic divide between groups living atop newfound oil reserves in Uganda's Western Region. The memo, which was leaked to the press on August 2, instructs the Minister for Presidential Affairs to consider restricting key elected offices - including parliamentary seats - in what was once the Bunyoro Kingdom in Western Uganda to ethnic Banyoro only. The memo also recommends preferential land ownership rights for ethnic Banyoro for the next twenty years. Museveni's memo may have been designed to appease, or perhaps distract, Banyoro leaders angered by long-standing land disputes and the government's continued refusal to reveal plans for oil revenue sharing (reftel). Banyoro leaders have hailed the President's proposal as a major step toward protecting the Banyoro identity and redressing century old claims against the British colonial government. The national press, civil society groups, and parliamentarians from a broad range of political perspectives, meanwhile, have condemned the idea as a step toward tribalism. Museveni subsequently tried to soothe tensions heightened by his memo by meeting separately with Banyoro and non-Banyoro community representatives in Kampala. Police also hauled the newspaper editor responsible for reprinting the memo in for questioning. Museveni has not backed away from the idea of investing specific ethnic groups with special electoral privileges in Western Uganda, and several members of his Cabinet who hail from Bunyoro have ratcheted up pressure on Museveni to move forward with his proposal. Museveni's apparent willingness to consider rewarding one ethnic constituency by disenfranchising many others reinforces concerns about his re-election strategy for 2011 and Uganda's commitment to the transparent management of impending oil revenues. End Summary. Museveni's Ring-Fence Memo ¶2. (U) During the weekend of August 1-2, local newspapers printed a memo from President Museveni to his Cabinet Minister in Charge of Presidential Affairs, Beatrice Wabudeya, entitled Guidance on the Banyoro/Bafuruki Question. Banyoro are indigenous residents of the Bunyoro Kingdom, which comprises four districts along the shores of Lake Albert in Western Uganda. Bafuruki is a term used to describe non-Banyoro Ugandan immigrants who migrated to Bunyoro during the 1980s. Minister Wabudeya belongs to a Cabinet level sub-committee previously established to examine Banyoro/Bafuruki tensions. In his memo Museveni faults so-called Bafuruki for infringing on Banyoro culture and political space. Invoking Article 32 of Uganda's 1995 constitution, which authorizes the state to take affirmative action in favor of groups marginalized by gender, age, disability, or any other reason, the President instructs Minister Wabudeya to consider restricting - or in the President's words ring-fencing - elected offices in Bunyoro to ethnic Banyoro candidates only. This would prevent non-Banyoros from contesting Parliament seats and key local level posts. ¶3. (SBU) The memo also recommends giving land ownership rights to ethnic Banyoro resident in Bunyoro since 1964, thereby resolving land disputes stemming from the colonial era when the British attributed swaths of Bunyoro to largely absent Buganda landowners from central Uganda. Museveni recommends preventing Bafuruki from obtaining any additional land titles and appropriate compensation for absent Buganda landholders for a period of 20 years. Newly titled ethnic Banyoro landholders would have the power to lease their newly acquired property, presumably to oil exploration firms for profit. -- Ring-Fence as Political Third Rail -- ¶4. (U) A number of Parliamentarians, including some from Museveni's own National Resistance Movement (NRM), immediately condemned the ring-fence proposal as a recipe for ethnic division or worse. Several outspoken NRM Parliamentarians from Western Uganda and elsewhere described the idea as an unconstitutional non-starter and joined opposition calls for a presidential
