Members expressed disappointment over the fact that the government of Uganda is pursuing oil developments some of which will be developed through their land but is yet to compensate and relocate them.

The letter authored by their chairman Innocent Tumwebaze points out that over 20 families are yet to be compensated while over 70 others are waiting for the government of Uganda to fulfill promises made to them  in the 2012 Resettlement Action Plan for the Refinery Project in order to be relocated.

Their letter was channeled through the African Institute on Energy Governance. Dickens Kamugisha is the Institute executive director.

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Ms Sarah Birungi Banage, (R) the assistant commissioner – public and corporate affairs of URA.

In a press statement released on Thursday, Sarah Birungi Banage, the Assistant Commissioner Public and Corporate Affairs with URA dismissed as false recent media reports suggesting that the beneficiary officials had earlier ‘hatched a plan’ to share the oil bonanza saying the transaction was both legal and had duly been approved through the Attorney General’s office.

The entire team came from URA, Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development.

“It is standard international best practice for employees to receive bonus payments/or honoraria for exemplary performance in both the public and the private sector. Equally under the Ugandan Constitution; the President has a prerogative as a fountain of honor to reward exemplary performance and this has been exhibited in the fields of health, academia, sports among others,” Banage’s  statement reads in part.

The payments which have popularly been referred to as a “presidential handshake” have caused a lot of debate among Ugandans with some members of the civil society and a section of members of parliament calling for an investigation to the transaction saying it didn’t follow the due process of the law.

According to the Observer newspaper, a section of MPs have demanded that the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, urgently institute a probe into the payments since the involved officers are public servants who draw a monthly salary for their work with government.

Paul Amoru the Dokolo North MP

Dokolo North MP, Paul Amoru, is quoted to have described the payments as “irregular, uncalled for and disturbing” and called for an immediate investigation into the matter.

“For us, as concerned MPs, from the information we have, URA should answer to the Parliamentary committee whose work directly deals with that to help us answer certain questions.It is unprecedented and dangerous,” Amoru said.

He was among MPs who called for a press conference on Wednesday in which a sizeable number of them said they want to clearly understand the source of this money and the person who authorised its payment.

Reports indicate that at least 42 officials benefitted from the bonus for their role in the capital gains tax dispute, in which the Ugandan government was awarded a combined total of USD700m.

However, Banage says there has been a lot of misconstrued information published in some dailies and online publications to the fact that payments were illegal, no approvals were obtained and that government officials ‘hatched a plan’ to share the oil bonanza.

“There is a lot of inaccuracy in the amount of money and the names of beneficiaries some of whom a former and current employees of URA. For example the following people both current and former staff of URA are erroneously included in the circulating lists namely;- Kyomuhendo Irene, Nabwire Agnes W, Nyakwera Jennipher, Nanziri Justine Stella, Wabokha Robert, Sebyala Samuel, Semombwe Charles, Patrick Mukiibi, Kateshumbwa Dicksons, Saka M Henry, and Otonga Michael Ochan,” Banage wrote.

Banage explained that contrary to the public view about the payments, all the legal processes were done before approvals were made as required by the Financial Management Act and that a Commissioner General was appointed to disburse the respective payments.

She added that the payment was a fraction of less than 1% of the total money won in the case.

Media reports have named the civil servants, who benefited, including, Ms Doris Akol, Head of URA (the initiator of the suit), her predecessor Allen Kagina who now runs the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA), the former Attorney General, the former Secretary to the Treasury, and the head of Kampala Capital City Authority, Jennifer Musisi, who headed the tax body’s legal department at the time.

In 2010, Heritage Oil sold its interest in Uganda to Tullow Oil at over $1.5bn, and the Ugandan government decided to impose a capital gains tax on the sale. But the oil firms refused to pay and the drawn-out dispute went on to the UK court of arbitration, where it was concluded in 2015.

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Tullow Oil Wins case against Heritage

14 June 2013 – Tullow Oil plc (Tullow) is pleased to announce that Tullow Uganda Limited, its Ugandan subsidiary, has received judgment in its favour in the proceedings against Heritage Oil and Gas Ltd and Heritage Oil Plc (together ‘Heritage’) in the High Court in London (Case No: 2011 Folio 471).

In 2010, Tullow agreed to acquire Heritage’s Ugandan assets pursuant to a Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA).  The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) designated Tullow Uganda Limited as agent in relation to this transaction which required Tullow to pay, on Heritage’s behalf, US$313 million to the URA.  This sum was the outstanding Capital Gains Tax that the Ugandan Government claimed from Heritage in respect of the transaction.  Tullow sought an indemnity from Heritage under the SPA in respect of this US$313 million payment to the URA.

In his judgment, Mr. Justice Burton found in favour of Tullow’s indemnity claim for US$313 million in its entirety and also dismissed Heritage’s counterclaim.  A further hearing will be scheduled in due course to address matters arising from the judgment such as the amount of interest Heritage owes Tullow on the US$313 million and Tullow’s submissions in respect of payment of its costs by Heritage.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Notes to Editors

Tullow Oil plc

Tullow is a leading independent oil & gas, exploration and production group, quoted on the London, Irish and Ghanaian stock exchanges (symbol: TLW) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. The Group has interests in over 150 exploration and production licences across 25 countries which are managed as three regional business units: West & North Africa, South & East Africa and Europe, South America and Asia.

Follow Tullow on:

Twitter: www.twitter.com/TullowOilplc
You Tube: www.youtube.com/TullowOilplc
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TullowOilplc
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/Tullow-Oil

Further Notes

1. What has happened today?

Tullow has won its case against Heritage in the High Court in London.

In his judgement Mr. Justice Burton found in favour of Tullow’s indemnity claim for US$313 million in its entirety and also dismissed Heritage’s counterclaim.

1. What was the case about?

In 2010, Tullow agreed to acquire Heritage’s Ugandan assets pursuant to a Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA).  The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) designated Tullow Uganda Limited as agent in relation to the transaction which required Tullow to pay, on Heritage’s behalf, US$313 million to the URA. This sum was the outstanding Capital Gains Tax that the URA claimed from Heritage in respect of the transaction. Tullow sought an indemnity from Heritage under the SPA in respect of this US$313 million payment to the URA.

1. What happens now?

The next step will involve a further hearing at which Mr Justice Burton will consider certain consequential matters arising from the judgment, such as the amount of interest Heritage owes Tullow on the US$313 million and the allocation of the costs of the proceedings.

1. When will this further hearing take place?

It is hoped that the further hearing will be fixed as soon as possible.  We are not in a position to assess when Mr Justice Burton will have availability to hear the parties on consequential matters.

1. What happened at the handing-down of the judgment on Friday, then?

The handing-down on Friday did not involve submissions by the parties.  Counsel did not attend, the parties were not represented, and Mr Justice Burton merely issued his judgment formally into the public domain.

1. What will happen in relation to the Escrow Funds?

In July 2010, when Tullow agreed to acquire Heritage’s Ugandan assets, Tullow agreed with Heritage to pay US$283 million into an escrow account.  This was intended to cover the outstanding amount of capital gains tax that the Ugandan Revenue Authority sought, at the time, from Heritage.  These funds remain in escrow.

During the proceedings, Tullow undertook, if suitable directions could be agreed and provided to the escrow agent, to permit Heritage to satisfy any judgment in part from the amount held in the escrow account.

1. What did the Judge say about Tullow and its witnesses?

Mr. Justice Burton said: “There were the two witnesses from the Claimant Company, Mr Martin and Mr Inch, together with Mr Kabatsi, Senior Partner of KAA…I listened to Mr Martin cross-examined for 3½ days and Mr Inch for the best part of 3.  I have thought long and hard about this, but I must record my conclusion that I found them both impressive and honourable witnesses, doing their best to give their recollections and a true account…I concluded that Mr Martin and Mr Inch were both impressive witnesses.”

Mr. Justice Burton added, “I found Mr Kabatsi a persuasive and impressive witness, not surprisingly given the high office which he had held in Uganda.”

1. What did Mr. Justice Burton say about the corruption allegations against Tullow referred to in the press?

During the trial, on 20 March 2013, Leading Counsel for Heritage expressly disavowed any allegations of corruption against Tullow.  Mr Justice Burton did not find that Tullow had engaged in any corrupt activities.  Indeed, he was clearly impressed by the conduct, bearing and testimony of our two witnesses (as indicated above).  On the last day of the trial, an article in the Daily Telegraph containing these false allegations was pointed out to Mr Justice Burton and his response was as follows:

“I have to say I was very disturbed to see the Daily Telegraph report…I can’t understand how their libel reader didn’t pick it up and stop it. There was absolutely no question of it being true or indeed, as far as I am concerned, privileged. It seems to me to go way outside anything that was said in this courtroom and anyone here from the Daily Telegraph should be ashamed of themselves for allowing it to be published. I trust that if there are any journalists here today they will take a great deal more care.”

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President Museveni might have used his powers to direct his minister for energy to sign an oil deal with Tullow Oil without the support of the people he rules, but the wrath of Ugandans keeps on growing every day. The members of the Democratic Party, the oldest opposition party in Uganda have vowed to petition European Union Parliament asking it to investigate the deal oil companies, Tullow Oil and Total signed with Uganda. The party has also threatened to mobilize its supporters to stage demonstrations in case diplomacy fails.

The post DP to petition European Union parliament over Tullow oil questionable deals with president Museveni first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

Acting Government Chief Whip Daudi Migereko while a Press Conference at Parliament said the President described the Author of the letter to the House of Commons as an enemy of the Country and trying to sabotage the Economy of the Country.

Migereko said the president read the Contents of the letter to NRM Caucus Members that sat yesterday in Entebbe but declined to mention the Author instead instructed the Investigative arms of Government to find out the motive of the letter which he described as Criminal.

Migereko also said that the Caucus has also set up a Committee that is going to investigate the Circumstances that led NRM to lose its seat in the just concluded Jinja Municipality East bi-elections and why voters were harassed to an extent of not casting their vote to the desired Candidate.

By Isaac Senabulya

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The MP for Lwemiyaga County, Theodre Sekikubo has told journalists this morning that the Uganda president is slowly becoming an international liar.

The post ‘Scientists say after 20 years oil will lose value’ first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

Irene Muloni, Uganda's Minister of Energy and Mineral Development

The long waited move will see a resumption of production activities in the Abertine Graben that had halted due to the expiry of Heritage Oil and Gas’s (which sold to Tullow) prospecting license and failure to apply for a production license.

The government and Tullow oil have signed the production sharing agreements for  kanywataba and pakwach basin oil wells  in Lake Albert rift Basin.

The oil production sharing agreements were signed by the minister of Energy and Mineral Development Irane Muloni on half of government and Tullow Oil Company General Counsel Graham Martin at the ministry of Energy and mineral Development.

Muloni said that in this new agreement Tullow will partner with Total and CNOOC  each having share holding of 33.3%to avoid monopoly of Tullow in oil Uganda’s production.

The move might not go well with some MPs and civil society organisations who had wanted the government to delay the signing of the oil production license until investigations into the oil sector are complete and a new oil and gas law is enacted.

Muloni however says that she will table the new oil and gas bill before parliament when it resumes its work next week so as oil laws are in place to apply them to open up competition in the oil industry.

Ultimate Media

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Tullow Oil plc (Tullow) is pleased to announce that it has appointed Barclays Capital and Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc as joint corporate brokers with immediate effect.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Tullow Oil plc
(+44 20 3249 9000)
Chris Perry – Investor Relations
James Arnold – Investor Relations
George Cazenove – Media Relations

Citigate Dewe Rogerson
(+44 207 638 9571)
Martin Jackson
Kate Lehane

Murray Consultants
(+353 1 498 0300)
Joe Murray
Ed Micheau

Tullow Group Overview
Tullow is a leading independent oil & gas, exploration and production group, quoted on the London, Irish and Ghanaian (symbol: TLW) stock exchanges and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. The Group has interests in over 90 exploration and production licences across 22 countries and focuses on four core areas: Africa, Europe, South Asia and South America.

In Africa, Tullow has production in Ghana, Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritania, Congo (Brazzaville) and Equatorial Guinea with two large appraisal and development programmes in Ghana and Uganda. Tullow also has exploration interests in Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mauritania, Senegal, Tanzania, Madagascar, Namibia, Kenya and Ethiopia.

Tullow’s European interests are focused on gas in the UK Southern North Sea where it has significant interests in the Caister-Murdoch System and the Thames area and in the Netherlands where it has offshore gas production, development and exploration opportunities.

In South Asia, Tullow has exploration and production in Bangladesh and exploration interests in Pakistan. In South America, Tullow has exploration interests in Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname.

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The scholarships aim to support local people to participate in the oil and gas industry, and in other sectors that promote economic diversification. The scheme will address both existing industry skills gaps and national capacity development requirements and is aligned with Tullow’s aim of supporting long-term socio-economic growth in countries where it operates.

The scheme will be run through a partnership between Tullow and the British Council – an internationally recognised service provider in the area of scholarship management and partnership brokerage in higher education around the world. The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. With a strong profile in Africa the British Council has a great deal of experience in running educational programmes to support development goals and priorities.

The British Council works in over 100 countries in the Arts, Education and English language. It is an independent and non-political organisation, with a global mission to connect people world-wide with learning opportunities and creative ideas from the UK. The choice of a reputable third party to administer the scholarships is to ensure independence and fairness, and the British Council has a track record of effective management of similar schemes.

A pilot phase began in September 2011, when 24 Ghanaians from the public sector began to pursue their Masters Level studies with leading universities in the United Kingdom.

Commenting today, Aidan Heavey, CEO of Tullow Oil Plc, said:
“This whole scheme is about developing potential – the potential that Tullow sees around it in Africa every day. Developing local talent for the oil industry makes good business sense for us, and it makes sense for oil producing countries to develop talent beyond oil. This is a great opportunity for anyone who has thought about this and wants to make a real contribution to the future of their country.”

The full Tullow Group Scholarship Scheme which is being launched today will have up to 110 scholarship awards this year allocated across the following countries Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Gabon, Mauritania, Cote d’Ivoire, French Guiana and Bangladesh. Scholarships are available to those who are committed to making a contribution to their respective country’s development.

This year fifty scholarship awards from the Tullow Group Scholarship Scheme are available to all Ghanaian members of the public who meet the set criteria through a competitive process. Details of the application process and eligibility criteria are available from the British Council website: (www.tullowgroupscholarshipscheme.org).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Tullow Oil plc
(+44 20 3249 9000)
Rosalind Kainyah – Vice President External Affairs and CSR

Pamela Uwakwe – Social Enterprise Projects Manager

George Cazenove – Media Relations

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