It is not a secret anymore that Teso sub region has been confirmed to possess oil wells.
In a recent discovery confirmed by the Ugandan Government, the petroleum is found in the Moroto Kadam basin of North Eastern Uganda.
According to the Minister of State for Energy in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral development, Okasai Opolot, Kadam covers Bukedea, Kumi and also Katakwi areas.
“Now I’m announcing this to alert and in case there’s anybody who has issues on the discovery, demanding for your rights, this is the time for you to actually make clear what your demands are on petroleum which you have in Teso”, confirms Opolot.
Opolot also goes on to highlight Kyoga still in Teso where he says petrol right from Mwara Serere through Kaberemaido as well as Soroti has been discovered.
“We have not found petrol in Soroti City, We have found the likelihood of petroleum in Soroti District. These are two different entities”, clarifies Opolot.
Opolot says detailed information over the same is available for anyone to access.
This clarification puts to rest claims by some Political Leaders who were inciting locals into protests against oil discovery over purported imminent eviction without compensation from the affected area.
State Minister for Fisheries Hellen Adoa joined her Energy Counterpart in refuting these claims.
“Suddenly you cannot just get oil, for example, here in Kumi where I am at the moment, this hospital, they say there is oil here. Then the next day you destroy this hospital. No, there are procedures and people are saying they are going to be chased away, No. Nobody should deceive people”, clarifies Adoa.
Adoa’s confidence is drawn from her experience with Bunyoro sub region where oil was equally discovered and proper procedures were followed to relocate affected persons.
“Nobody was chased without compensation. So nobody should deceive people that oil has been found in Teso or in Serere, in Soroti, so they should leave. No, people should stop lying, people are inciting” says Adoa.
She blames on some opposition political players who she describes as bad wishers using oil as one of the avenues to fight NRM.
“It cannot happen overnight and the law does not allow you, when you find any resource in anyone’s land, the law does not allow you to send that person away without any compensation”.
The projection now is to have the face of Teso change from what it is currently to an outlook similar to that of Bunyoro especially in terms of infrastructure development.
“Now, working with the Ministry of Works, we have actually provided in that exploratory area, oil wells must come to Teso. What happened in Bunyoro, Lake Albert area, must also happen in Teso”, Says Minister Opolot.
Tisai, an island in Kumi District which is earmarked for connectivity to Nakapiripirit and stretching all the way to the Kenyan border.
Minister of State for works in the Ministry of works and transport Musa Francis Ecweru sees a bright future with the new oil discovery in Teso.
“We are going to improve Soroti Flying Academy so that it can accommodate big aeroplanes. We are even considering reviving the aerodrome in Ongino itself so that light planes can land here without driving from Soroti”, says Ecweru.
The awareness is to enable People Land there, do what they want to do in Tisai and those other areas and fly away.
All in all, to the Leaders, it is just good news that oil has been discovered in Teso sub region.
