Oil Discoveries and Child Labor in Uganda: A New Era and Ongoing Challenges - Prof. Parakh, Papers of African American Politics

Download Oil Discoveries and Child Labor in Uganda: A New Era and Ongoing Challenges - Prof. Parakh and more Papers African American Politics in PDF only on Docsity! Journal Report 1: Uganda Introduction: The Republic of Uganda finally fell into a scene of political stability in the beginning of the 21st century after a history of conflict and political unrest. Prior to the age of colonialism, Uganda was governed by small kingdoms which were ruled by chiefs. The first foreigners to visit Uganda were Arab traders in 1845. Europe quickly followed with goals for exploiting local resources and Christianization of Uganda. According to the encyclopedia, Britannica Online, a few years later, the Imperial British East Africa Company declared to protect certain African states including Uganda. In 1894, Great Britain made Uganda a protectorate. On October 9, 1962, Britain officially granted Uganda independence. The following year, the country became a republic with commonwealth ties. Political conflict and tension ensued. Various leaders conquered and rewrote the constitution for absolute power. Decades of political unrest followed for Uganda. Finally in 1995, a new constitution was created and the following year a responsible president was elected. Uganda has continued to mature in the political realm as peace and prosperity grow as a unicameral parliament. Swahili and English are the official languages of Uganda. The majority of the country celebrates Christianity or Islam because of the early impact of missionaries and Arab traders. Oil In Uganda (Afrol News) The fifth discovery of light and movable oil in the past five months was recently found off of Lake Victoria just 400 meters below surface. Tullow Oil, a London based company, is credited with the finding of the oil. The drilling went only 616 meters deep and hit two oil zones making this the shallowest oil area in the republic of Uganda (Afrol 1 News, September 2008). "Well results have confirmed presence of good quality reservoir and seals in this area and upgraded several adjacent prospects that will be tested during the 2009 Butiaba drilling campaign," Tullow Oil said in a statement (Afrol News, September 2008). Pending the investigation of three other wells in Uganda, the company may start production. Government officials stated that the oil output will produce diesel, kerosene, and heavy fuel. In another article, Tullow Oil has announced that the future drilling in Uganda will double the company’s worldwide reserves which is currently at 80,000 barrels a day. According to the Dow Jones International News article, Uganda is planning to start drilling next year. Normally, it takes eight years to test oil reserves, but the company has sped up the process to ease electricity shortages. The company also plans to set up a smaller oil refinery to produce up to 5,000 barrels of oil a day by the fourth quarter of 2009 (Dow Jones International News, September 2008). Uganda plans to reach its full production rate in the next five to six years. Reportedly from Agence France Presse, yet another part of Uganda has discovered oil. This reserve has been described by the article as Uganda’s “largest oil deposit” which is located near the boarder of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Heritage Oil, a company from Canada, is responsible for sighting this treasure. It has already begun to produce 14, 364 barrels a day. A spokesperson from the company stated that the well has “surpassed our expectations, indicating the outstanding potential of the Kingfisher discovery” (Agence France Presse, September 2008). The oil from this area has been described as good quality. This oil was discovered two years prior to the oil 2 cannot effectively respond to the AIDS crisis without protecting the rights of the most marginalized members of society”, according to an article in the States News Service. Victims of HIV and AIDS in Uganda face massive discrimination in the areas of employment and education, medical care, forced HIV testing, as well as housing evictions (States News Service, May 2008). Although Uganda has addressed the medical effects of HIV, it has failed to help the human rights efforts. The legal framework has been set up for victims of abuse, however, it is rarely an option because the legal system is often “inaccessible, ineffective, disproportionately accessible, or non-existent” (States News Service, May 2008). Many suffers of the disease don’t seek medical care because of the intense fear of mistreatment in the workplace and school. A better enforcement of equal opportunity legislature and protection against victims of HIV or AIDS is being strongly recommended to reduce the spread of the disease and improve treatment of the sufferers. According to the Uganda Aids Commission, there were 130,000 new infections in 2005, compared to 70,000 in 2003 stated in an article in Comtex. The article states that United States “religious” donations are not useful because the donators will not allow the use of condoms for safe sex. Also, a rumor is spreading that the Ugandan government covered up the outbreak in order to produce a higher turnout at a Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting. AIDS has affected such a great deal of people that many children are forced to run their family as young as the age of 10. Also, many professions, particularly banking and teaching, have almost been eliminated due to the number of AIDS related deaths. Uganda has raised its funds for the education and treatment of AIDS through NGOs and official donors rather then its own taxes. The author of the 5 article, Charles Onyango-Obbo, believes that AIDS has not done anymore damage to the African population then wars or other diseases would have done. The HIV/ AIDS impact is an important theme in Ugandan society because no one is left unaffected. Many citizens are left vulnerable to mistreatment and discrimination because the government of Uganda has failed to protect its own citizens. People with AIDS are forced out of employment, not allowed to further education, unable to find legal or medical help and some are evicted from their houses. The poor legal system makes it nearly impossible to support these victims. The government of Uganda must find a way to help its own people before AIDS spreads even further. 6 Works Cited Bariyo, Nicolas. "Uganda To Use Oil Plan to Test Reservoir Productivity-Official." Dow Jones International News 6 Sept. 2008. Domowitz, Susan. "United States Helping to End Abusive Child Labor." Comtex 22 Oct. 2007. "Oil firm says finds Uganda's largest deposit yet." Agence France Presse 4 Sept. 2008. Onyango-Obbo, Charles. "Aids And Politics; Lies, Damn Lies And the Truth [column]." Comtex 4 Dec. 2007. "Shallow oil deposits discovered in west Uganda." Afrol News. 10 Sept. 2008.18 Sept. 2008 <http://www.afrol.com/articles/30733>. "3 Million Ugandan Minors Risked ForcedLlabour." 12 June 2008. "Uganda AIDS Implementers Must Address Human Rights." State News Service 28 May 2008. "Uganda." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 17 Sep. 2008 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/612597/Uganda>. 7