Uganda's discovered oil and gas resources in the Albertine graben is expected to escalate and worsen land wrangles in the oil frontline districts, and further widen the gap between the rich and the poor, a new report by the Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC) at Makerere University reveals...

Although the report does not explain further how oil will escalate land wrangles, oil projects will require large chunks of land, which will displace local people whose livelihoods solely depend on their land. Already, more than 7,118 people have been displaced from 13 villages in Kabaale parish, Hoima district to pave way for the construction of oil refinery. Last year, 200 families in Rwamutonga village Bugambe sub county Hoima district were evicted without compensation after their land was sold to McAlester Energy Resources, an American firm, to construct a waste treatment plant.