The Ministry of Energy recently tabled the Petroleum Supply Amendment Bill 2023 which intends to grant the Uganda National Oli Company UNOC exclusive rights to be the sole importer of petroleum products into the country
Speaking to journalists at the UPC party headquarters Sharon Oyat Arach the party spokesperson says this was part of Dr Milton Obote's vision before he was ousted in 1971.

Uganda is currently a net importer of petroleum products, where more than 90 percent of the products are imported through the Port of Mombasa in Kenya and the rest through the Port of Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania.
The importation is done independently by the licensed Ugandan oil marketing companies through the importation structures in Kenya and Tanzania.

In efforts to change the trajectory, the Minister for Energy and Mineral Development Ruth Nankabirwa tabled the Petroleum Supply amendment bill. Among other provisions,  the bill empowers the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development to carry out the overall responsibility of regulating the importation of petroleum products into Uganda. Sharon Arach Oyat says this was one of the visions revealed by Obote in 1970

On his X handle the President revealed that cheap bulk and Refinery suppliers have been contracted to eliminate the expensive middlemen. Arach applauds the government on this  arguing that it will give the country independence and sovereignty which was the prior goal of the Obote government

However, she says this requires a capacity to deliver at a national level thus asking the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Energy, and the UNOC to be ready to steer up the country.

Uganda has occasionally been exposed to supply vulnerabilities where the Ugandan OMCs are considered secondary whenever there are supply disruptions. These vulnerabilities have paused additional challenges, resulting in Uganda receiving relatively costly products and ultimately impacting the retail pump prices.