The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ambassador James Mugume has revealed that President Museveni and his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta will have a meeting on Friday after which they will announce the route for the Ugandan crude oil.
Some sections of the media have this week reported that Uganda had chosen to export her crude oil to the East African coast through the Kabale-Tanga route in Tanzania as opposed to the Kabale-Lamu route in Kenya.
However responding to this question on Wednesday, Mugume refuted the allegations and said that before the Heads of State meeting at the Northern Corridor Integration Projects Summit on Saturday, the presidents of the 2 East African states would meet to discuss the pipeline.
“They will discuss the matter on Friday after looking at the technical data and reports presented to them. The meeting on Friday will give a way forward,” the Ugandan Foreign Affairs Ministry Permanent Secretary said on Wednesday at Munyonyo.
“After Friday, then we will be able to know which route to take as far as the oil pipeline is concerned. All the data has been analyzed and the 2 presidents will decide on Friday.”
Asked why it has taken long for a decision to be reached on the route, Mugume said that they have been undergoing feasibility studies to find out the best alternative route that could be used at a cheaper cost for a barrel of oil to reach the East African coast.
“The presidents will be driven by the factor of the least cost in transporting oil to the coast. It is because of this factor that we have gone to great length to be able to get the best deal.”