Senior fellow Alan Gelb and research assistant Stephanie Majerowicz were quoted in a Daily Monitor/AllAfrica.com article on Oil to Cash in Uganda.
From the Article
Government should distribute expected oil revenue to citizens through direct cash transfers but tax the stipend, a US think tank has suggested. "Redistributing oil rents to Ugandan citizens and forcing the government to rely on taxes -- both corporate and personal income taxes, ties the fortune of government revenue to the broader welfare of the Ugandan economy," argues the Centre for Global Development.
It says Uganda's preference to invest petro-dollars into infrastructure could spur economic development, but weak institutional capacity and political patronage will likely result in skewed domestic choices and corruption.
Corruption/kick backs
"Construction as a sector is notoriously susceptible to corruption, increasing the likelihood that programmes will be promoted for their expected kickbacks rather than their effectiveness," wrote senior fellow Alan Gelb and Research assistant Stephanie Majerowicz.
They added: "Countries that start off from weak institutional capacity and poor governance prior to the discovery of oil or large mineral resources are likely to fall victim to the curse. Oil revenues are likely to exacerbate these institutional weaknesses, leading to greater corruption and poor overall governance....