Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has sharply criticized his own government officials for “letting down” the country by buying petroleum products from middlemen in Kenya instead of directly from bulk suppliers and refiners.
In a statement on Sunday, Museveni said Uganda imports about 2.5 billion liters of petroleum products annually at a cost of around $2 billion, but officials had been purchasing the fuel from middlemen in Kenya without his knowledge.
On Wednesday this week, Uganda, which imports 90% of its fuel products through the port of Mombasa, announced measures aimed at ceasing its reliance on Kenya for sourcing petroleum products, citing challenges from Kenya’s government-to-government fuel deal with Gulf nations.
“A whole country buying from middlemen in Kenya or anywhere else!!” Museveni said. “Amazing but true.”
He said he learned about the practice from whistleblowers and handed the matter over to Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa to handle about a year ago, but the problem persisted. Museveni then studied the issue himself and found Uganda loses a significant amount of money by using middlemen.
“The middlemen were selling us petroleum products at prices” much higher than what could be obtained directly from bulk suppliers or refiners, Museveni said. He cited diesel being sold at $118 per tonne by middlemen versus $83 from bulk suppliers, and petrol at $97.5 per tonne versus $61.5.
Museveni said he has discussed the issue with Kenyan President William Ruto, and Ugandan officials are in talks with Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu about securing fuel directly from Dar es Salaam. But he said the officials who benefited from the arrangement have launched a media campaign against his plan.
“However, the internal parasites who have been cheating their country, have launched a social-media and mainstream media campaign against our liberation- resistance plan against being over-charged,” Museveni said. He vowed to confront what he called the “parasites.”
Museveni said Ruto is addressing the Kenyan side of the problem. Once Uganda’s oil refinery is operating in a few years, Museveni said the region will benefit from competitively priced fuel.
“Down with the social-media and mainstream media mis-informers,” he said in conclusion.
