A national dialogue held on November 6 at the Protea Hotel in Kampala exposed deep divisions regarding how Uganda’s mining sector should distribute wealth. Organized by the Uganda Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, the Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment, the Natural Resource Governance Institute, and the Uganda Association of Artisanal and Small-scale Miners, the event focused on Community Development Agreements (CDAs). These legally mandated contracts require mineral right holders to negotiate benefit-sharing with affected communities, a requirement established under the Mining and Minerals Act of 2022. The gathering brought together government officials, civil society representatives, and industry leaders to examine whether these agreements can effectively translate mineral extraction into tangible local development. The central theme was moving beyond simple revenue transparency to ensure that communities actually receive the benefits promised in their names.
The Rupa community in Moroto District serves as a primary case study for these negotiations. According to AllAfrica, the community spent nearly a decade, from 2014 to 2023, structuring a trust and an investment company to manage payments from Sunbird Resources Limited. This arrangement allows the community to finance long-term projects such as scholarships, health centers, and infrastructure, rather than distributing funds directly to individuals. Geoffrey Ojok Odur, a lawyer who helped organize the Rupa trust, presented the model as a way to turn mining benefits into sustainable investments. He emphasized that the community transformed a fragmented population of 43,000 people into a unified legal entity capable of bargaining with investors. The agreement includes specific commitments for employment, training, and the supply of pozzolana to the mining company, aiming to secure a commercial stake for residents beyond simple land access fees.
Despite the structured approach in Rupa, industry representatives warned against placing excessive developmental burdens on mining companies. Kenneth Asiimwe, chief executive of the Uganda Association of Artisanal and Small-scale Miners, argued that companies already contribute significantly through taxes such as Pay As You Earn and Value Added Tax. He cautioned that expecting private firms to replace government services risks undermining public accountability and ignoring the high costs and risks associated with exploration. Asiimwe questioned whether communities possess the institutional capacity to manage large sums of money without triggering internal conflict, citing disputes in Abim where competing claims over cooperative ownership led to violence. He asserted that without effective governance structures, large payments can deepen divisions rather than improve livelihoods.