CO-Leveraging Success 4Greater Transpare Oxfam has been implementing the Extractive Industry program in Uganda since 2017. This work commenced with a flagship USD $221,200 two year project supported by MacArthur Foundation through Oxfam America, and has helped the country program establish itself as a key player in the civil society space as well as creating relationships with key government agencies.

We have also implemented some one-off initiatives such as the $42,000 Civic Space Support in Uganda project, as well as strategic engagements around the research on Securing a Fair Share of Ugandan Petroleum Revenues, technical assessments and submission of written comments  on the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Reports (ESIA) for the oil projects in Uganda. These initiatives demonstrate the growing portfolio of our Extractive Industries work in Uganda and the Human Rights Impact Assessment for the proposed East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). The context for the sector includes immense opportunities for further contributing to policy and decision making as the sector is expected to grow rapidly with the planned transition from exploration and development to production of petroleum. The burgeoning oil and gas and mining sector is predicted to be a key driver of economic growth inUganda.
Already, the extractive industry is thelargest contributor to the country#s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) portfolio[1].
The minerals sub-sector is also undergoing majorchanges with a new Mining Bill 2019[2] recently put in place by government. There#s a growing private sector interest as international mining companies such as British Rio Tinto have signed commercial deals to participate in the sector[3]. At this point in time, it is important to reflect on the successes registered so far, the challenges and what the increasing opportunities in the external context mean to us so that we are able to map out a strategic direction for our work.

Additionally, Oxfam has been able to establish formal working relationships with civil society players such as Civil society Coalition on Oil and Gas in Uganda (CSCO), Global Rights Alert (GRA), Civic Response on Environment and Development (CRED), Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG) and Chapter IV Uganda. Notwithstanding the partner capacities, a number of requests further capacity development have been expressed to Oxfam formally and informally, notably on Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) and Petroleum Taxation. Contributing to partners and allies capacity building in these strategic areas would strengthen our collaborative influencing efforts.

While Oxfam in Uganda has been ableto undertake strategic engagements using the findings of the research on petroleum revenue risks for Uganda, there#s still need fordeliberate efforts to share the detailed analysis with the wider civil society fraternity. This will foster knowledge enhancement, stronger and collaborative advocacy around transparent and accountable petroleum revenue management in Uganda. Relatedly, as follow up from previous t engagements with key decision makers on petroleum issues in Government, there#s need to convene a multi-ministry/agency conversation on petroleum revenue management in Uganda. This will act as an accountability forum to assess government#s progress inimplementing recommendations of the report but is also envisioned to be sustained as a space where Oxfam convenes government agencies and civil society to deliberate on pertinent issues in the sector periodically.

Whereas we have also been compiling individual project reports, there#s need to look at our work in totality. Distils and capture key milestones, lessons learnt and the voicesof the ultimate beneficiaries. This will foster accountability, learning and inform the design of future engagements.

Aside from the above, being a lead convener on extractives will require us to engage with not only the #traditional# actors within civil societyspace but also other influential groups and actors including youth leaders, religious leaders, social andmainstream media influencers, influential business/private sector people, students and broader academia, think tanks among others. Regular discussions on topical issues shaping the country#s extractive industry trajectory will enable us ensure that our interventions are more relevant, and embed the flexibility needed to be  a pace setter and operate with a broader and more futuristic outlook.