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Since its discovery in Uganda oil has become the one and major factor dominating discussions about the country’s economic future. There are very high expectations of an economic boom and many Ugandans hope that the oil revenues will soon boost the development of the country. However, such expectations cannot be taken for granted, given that there are several examples of countries that have and exploit oil but continue to experience the opposite effect: That oil production can even worsen the state of an economy and turn into the so-called “resource curse”.

The decisive question for Uganda’s economic future therefore is: How can oil production and oil revenues be managed meaningfully and sustainably in order to improve the overall economic and social situation of the country? How can the newly discovered resource indeed become a “blessing” and how can Uganda avoid the so-called ‘oil resource curse’?

On this background the crucial importance of the oil debate, Makerere University is dedicating part of its 90-years celebrations to high level exchanges on the topic: ‘Oil Resource Management and its Utilisation for Economic Transformation’. The discourse comprising a public lecture and dialogues with a range of stakeholders aims to facilitate in-depth reflection and discussion out of which policy options regarding oil resource management, accountability and transparency will be made available to government and other stakeholders.

At the centre of the discussions will be H.E. John Agyekum Kufuor, former president of the republic of Ghana. Ghana already has its “lessons learned” and serves as an interesting case study: as an African state able to set-up rather effective oil resource management and utilisation mechanisms despite setbacks and challenges. In the implementation of this activity, Makerere University through its alumni association, the Makerere University Convocation has enlisted the support from three partners: the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), Uganda Youth Network (UYONET) and the Democratic Governance Facility (DGF).