MP Tinkasimire assures Bunyoro on oil

Julius Kyamanywa
Following several attacks on the western banks of the country, most people are found to have taken it wrongly as a proof to the theory that the discovery of oil comes with curses. On contrary, the Buyaga MP, Barnabas Tinkasiimire has attacked such believers saying the discovery of oil in the region is a blessing and not a curse. Tinkasimire said on Thursday(20th.09.07) while addressing students of Makerere University hailing from Bunyoro sub-region at University Hall. He said Bunyoro is going to gain much from this discovery if the outcomes are distributed fairly and added that the Banyoro are still pressing the Government to produce copies of signed agreements it entered with the Oil exploring Companies, Tullow and Heritage Oil. “We shall continue to fight until our rights are achieved”, he assured.He added that his arrest in July this year was one of the measures employed by some selfish politicians to deviate his attention from the oil issues. MP Tinkasimire, , was in July this year arrested and locked up in Morukatipe Prison in Tororo on charges of failing to account for Shs 2m while he was assistant chief administrative officer in the district a fewyears back. He was later released on a non-cash bail of 10 million shillings by the High Court in Mbale Tinkasiimire said a group of people wanted to bribe him to back off oil issues but he remained firm. “They wanted to bribe me with lots of money but I remained firm. They did it in a wrong way; I already knew that they were coming”, he said in a smiling mood.Tinkasiimire defended his critical nature of deliberation in the house arguing that it is job as a member of parliament. “I have taken my job seriously. Am doing my job as a representative”, he assured. Tinkasiimire has been branded a "rebel" in the NRM because of disagreeing with other party MPs on certain issues on the floor of the HouseLast year, Australia’s Hardiman Resources and its UK-based partner Tullow Oil announced from preliminary tests the presence of substantial oil deposits around the shores of Lake Albert in Western Uganda. Since then, some Ugandans from the areas where the exploration wells are located have been seeking assurances from the government that their interests will come first. Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom together with the Bunyoro parliamentarians are demanding for 20% share of the oil revenue. Bunyoro is currently one of the poorest sub-regions in the country with its poverty levels standing at 49% compared to the national level of 30% and 97% 0f the locals depend on subsistence farming. The region gets 1.4%(approximately sh.48billlion) share of the national budget every year.