Monday, February 8, 2010

Meanwhile, in Uganda...

Two stories predominate the regular Google alert I get on the topic of Uganda: one is the anti-homosexuality bill, still being roundly criticized by church and political leaders outside of Uganda while Ugandan politicians tell non-Ugandans to MYOB, a reaction I can appreciate even while thinking the anti-homosexuality bill is horrible.

"We cannot tell the Senate what to do. We cannot tell Congress what to do. So why do they feel that they can tell us what we should do in the interest of our people?" James Nsaba Buturo, Ugandan minister of ethics and integrity, told AFP.

The other story getting a lot of play that you may not know about is that there are lots of negotiations going on over new oil fields in Uganda. Companies from Russia, the U.K., France, as well as Exxon, "among others," have been trying to get in to Uganda "following the discovery of around a billion barrels of oil in three exploration blocks." As I understand it, there has never been petroleum production in Uganda before. Let's hope they learn something from Nigeria's experience.

I can just imagine how these two very different stories may become intertwined. But what do I know? At any rate, I wanted to give you a heads up.

1 comment:

qoe said...

Yes, I have been following the oil thread for a while. The entire African Continent is at risk of having the governments of the various countries selling the land off to the highest bidder, whether that be a Russian, Chinese or U.S. corporate interest.

The people are left in the dust. Humanitarian efforts are hampered by practically everything--big corporate interests, internal government squabbles, black markets, ignoring the AIDs crisis...

Prayer may not be enough, but it may be the only viable portal through which we individuals on the other side of the world can offer help...