last November, shortly after Parliament had passed 11 resolutions following a heated special session on the oil sector on October 10 and 11, 2011, President Museveni received an influential visitor from China:  the minister of National Defence and State Councillor, General Liang Gaunglie.

Museveni hosted Gaunglie at State House Entebbe on November 29, where the two discussed, among others matters concerning infrastructure development, the urgent need to explore Ugandaís oil, noting that any delays would prove costly for Uganda. This visit, it appears, prompted Museveniís decision to instruct the Energy ministry to sign a production sharing agreement (PSA) with Tullow Oil last week, despite the fact that Parliament had resolved, after that heated debate in October, to impose a moratorium on oil deals until enabling legislation had been passed.

Addressing Parliament last Friday, Museveni, recalling from his discussion with the Chinese minister, told MPs: "In 20 years' time, oil and petroleum products prices will be down because cleaner sources of energy will have been perfected. These are solar, nuclear and wind energy".

He said Gaunglie had suggested that by 2030, oil will not be a hot cake and that demand will shift to new energy alternatives - especially solar energy. Museveni further told MPs that Gaunglie said: "Each day the world receives from the sun an amount of energy 50 times the amount of electricity generated in the whole world for one year. This means the amount of energy the sun gives us is more than enough to provide energy for the world, but the problem is that technology isn't efficient enough to make electricity from the sun cheaply".

"What [Gaunglie] was warning me about is that I should be careful because in 20 years' time, oil may not be as precious as it is now. This is because technology is improving and cleaner energy will be more preferred. Another scientist has told me that before, and I donít want us to miss any opportunity", Museveni said.

In its resolution, Parliament halted transactions in the oil sector until a new legal regime has been formulated. But on Friday, Museveni described the resolution to delay the signing of oil production agreements as a "mistake", warning MPs that he will not fall into the trap of anyone who will delay the "development" of Uganda - especially on oil and electricity. He advised MPs to be "humble" as government takes on this route of development - even if, like some MPs complained, government ignores Parliamentís positions, especially on oil matters.

Museveni had gone to Parliament to defend Energy minister Irene Muloni's signing of two new PSAs with Tullow Oil for development and production works on oil blocks EA-1 and Kanywataba in the Lake Albert rift basin. These agreements gave Tullow rights to farm-down to French oil giant Total and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).

"Continuing to procrastinate wouldn't have been good for the country, because we are losing time, and we didn't want to let our partners see us as unreliable", Museveni explained.

"We shouldn't cause the NRM government to be paralyzed in that area or any other area. Many people involved in the oil sector are pioneers and very experienced".

Museveni, who for the first time revealed the contents of PSAs government signed in 2001, told MPs: "Oil companies are guests, not your aunts. They have come to make money, but we have said, 'make money as we make money'".

Cotents of PSAs

Explaining that the government signed the PSAs to "attract investors", Museveni said for the start, oil companies with be getting 72 of every 100 barrels produced until they recover the money used to dig the wells. Museveni, however, says this arrangement is the beginning and that it does not include the 30% tax reduction off every barrel the companies take. He added that in the business of oil companies, government will get 15% of the shares, receive 5-12% proceeds on loyalties, depending on the quantity of oil produced, and that a $3.2bn refinery will be constructed.

"What does this mean? It means that Uganda will get a total of 152,000 barrels out of every 200,000 barrels produced. This is 76.2%", he said.

The President also said government defined the stabilization clause, which at first was vague in terms of the loss of economic benefits; that is, the government could not know or authenticate that companies have suffered a substantial loss.

"The companies have accepted our plan. We shall now use NPV (Net Present Value) to determine the losses", he said.

Museveni also assured Ugandans that the oil money will be used for development.

"Oil money should never be squandered. It must be used on durable things - not to import cars, perfumes and travel abroad. It should be used to develop cheap electricity, nuclear energy, solar, biogas and hydro power", the President added.

On nuclear energy, he said the government has already begun training scientists in nuclear energy. He stated: "No one will export uranium [a raw material for nuclear energy] as long as I am still president".