Chris Obore
10 February 2008
Kampala — THE failure of the government to disclose the status of the national fuel reserves in Jinja has been linked to fear of a possible attack by enemies.
Sunday Monitor has learnt that Security Minister Amama Mbabazi told ruling party MPs during a caucus meeting at Statistics House in Kampala on Thursday that the government would not reveal how much fuel it has in its reserve tanks because such information would be exploited by state enemies.
It is not clear whether this explanation was an attempt to divert the close public scrutiny of the government's apparent lack of strategic planning in this area.
Sources who attended the meeting said that Mr Mbabazi's remarks were provoked by MPs who had harangued Energy Minister Daudi Migereko, asking him to explain the fuel scarcity that has stressed the country since political turmoil erupted in neighbouring Kenya at the start of January.
Kenya is Uganda's main route to the sea. The MPs reportedly complained that fuel shortage was damaging the economy through increased commodity prices.
MPs David Bahati (NRM, Ndorwa West), John Kigyagi (NRM, Mbarara Municipality) and Mary Okurut (NRM, Bushenyi Woman) reportedly led the questioning.
Mr Bahati said that questions regarding fuel reserves were indeed raised "but the minister will be making a statement on Tuesday in Parliament".
We sought comment from Mr Mbabazi but by press time, we had not been able to reach him as calls to his cell phone were diverted to an aide, who said the minister was busy.
Ms Okurut was cagey when contacted. "That thing of oil might have come when I had moved out," she said. "For me, I only said we must wake up the party." Asked what she meant by waking up the party, she said the National Executive Committee (NEC) has taken long without meeting.
The MPs reportedly challenged the government to find quick means of addressing the fuel situation, which though much improved now is yet to return to pre-Kenya crisis levels.
NEC member Hassan Basajjabalaba reportedly said the Tanzanian route was nearly impossible to use because of insecurity, heavy demurrage and the bad state of roads.
Opposition FDC spokesman Wafula Oguttu told Sunday Monitor that Uganda's installed fuel reserve capacity can only last 14 days but that even then, the government simply did not have fuel in the reserves.
"[Mbabazi] is lying. He is hiding government's inefficiency by invoking [security]," Mr Oguttu said. Also contentious during the meeting was the story that Ugandan troops crossed into Kenya. Mr Mbabazi reportedly said that the story was a creation of the Opposition whom he described as people bent on mudslinging the President.
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