Museveni's Oil Victory a Loss for Uganda

KAMPALA, Uganda -- With an estimated 2 billion barrels of oil sitting beneath its Lake Albert, Uganda boasts the largest reserves among a number of African countries whose recent discoveries of petroleum have swelled the ranks of the continent's oil-possessing states. But it took a recently signed agreement resolving a tax dispute between the government of President Yoweri Museveni on one side and two companies -- Tullow Oil and its former partner, Heritage Oil -- on the other to open the door for an estimated $10 billion of investment in the country.

By the terms of the agreement, announced Feb. 15, Tullow will pay $469 million to Uganda over the next month. But while Museveni, recently re-elected after 25 years in power, may crow about the money the country is raking in from its oil even before it is out of the ground, the deal is a hollow victory for Uganda. ...