Petroleum Fund assets rise to Shs422.9bn

The Petroleum Fund, where revenue from all petroleum-related activities is deposited, is valued at Shs422.9bn as at 31 December 2017.

The Fund which was established in March 2015 by the Public Finance Management Act, 2015 is managed by the finance minister. According to the semi-annual report for the six-month period ended Dec 31st, 2017 presented to parliament, the account has a balance of Shs422.9bn.

The Fund operates on three accounts, two of which are managed at Bank of Uganda and the third in New York to facilitate investment of revenue. For now, no money has been invested.

The dollar account has a balance of $86.4m while the Uganda shillings’ account has receivable Shs109.4bn from the Consolidated Fund from revenue collections.

In the period July to December 2017, Uganda collected Shs24.06bn from petroleum-related activities. Most of the money, Shs22.66bn, was accrued from withholding tax while income tax from petroleum activities brought in Shs1.39bn.

Revenue sources for the fund include signing bonuses, purchase of petroleum licenses, income and withholding tax on petroleum companies, surface rental fees, sale of feasibility study date and capital gains tax on transfer of shares.

A huge chunk of the money came from the capital gains tax from Tullow Uganda Oil PTY which paid Shs245.5bn.

An additional Shs6.77bn was deposited into the fund after the Government cashed on the security bond deposit for the refinery development project after RT Global failed to meet the conditions of the bond.

There is only one withdrawal reflected on the account. The Shs125.6bn that was transferred into the Uganda Consolidated Fund to support the national budget in FY2017/18.

Earlier the Parliament had blocked a request to transfer Shs166bn, requesting the finance minister to follow proper procedure before tabling the motion with the house. Withdrawals can only be made under authority granted by an Appropriations Act and a warrant of the Auditor General.

Related: Government moves motion to withdraw Shs166 bn from petroleum fund