The Ugandan government said that at least four in every ten oil and gas contracts will be awarded to Ugandans. The decision was made during a Cabinet meeting last month.
“By 2021, there should be no foreign company that should give any excuse as to why they want to bring a meter reader, truck driver, and an oil attendant at the refinery. If the contract in the oil and gas sector has been awarded to a foreign company, 40 per cent of that contract should go to either a Uganda-registered company or it should go to Ugandan suppliers and labourers,” the Media Centre executive director Ofwono Opondo said.
Opondo also said the Ugandan Local Content Policy for the Oil and Gas Industry requires companies awarded oil contracts to conduct a two-week training of locals in preparation for oil production by 2021.
The policy will apply to other key government contracts such as road and Standard Gauge Railway contracts, he added. According to him, the policy will enhance human resource capacity in the country.
Other Endorsements
The Cabinet also endorsed the plan to borrow $76.95 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to fund irrigation projects in Eastern and Northern Uganda and to assist maize, beef, and dairy farmers in 28 districts.
The credit will also offer logistical support and help with the building and equipping of a laboratory at the Uganda National Bureau of Standards for exports.
“One of our biggest problems is not just productivity but harvest handling and storage. We grow the largest portion of maize in the region. But our maize is of low quality. The World Food Programme cannot buy it. Kenyan traders cannot buy our maize,” he said. “A year ago, the government sent a team to Brazil because they were willing to buy our maize and when they tested it, they found it not fit for human consumption. Yes, we eat them [maize], but the way we grow and handle is not to standard. There is a need for government to make a deliberate intervention.”
The Cabinet also endorsed the National Curriculum Development Centre (Amendment) Bill, 2017 which intends to include new stakeholders such as the private sector into the ex-officio membership of the governing council. The Bill will also remove defunct members.
