Ugandan journalists to get Oil and gas training

Bloggers, alternative media producers, online journalists, TV/radio producers will in August receive training on oil and gas from various experts including the petroleum exploration and production department (PEPD), oil companies, service providers, donor agencies, civil society as the country nears oil production.

According to the organizers of the training of the fourth estate will ensure there is good governance in the sector by enhancing oversight through holding the government and oil companies accountable.

This training is also expected to be extended to Tanzania and Ghana following increased funding from the Fund for Global Human Rights (FGHR), based in Washington DC to augment the larger Natural Resource Governance Institute (formerly Revenue Watch Institute).

The Kampala-based African Centre for Media Excellence, a not-for-profit professional organisation that seeks to help improve journalism and communication in Africa, is the local training partner in Uganda.

ACME plans to use part of the FGHR funding to conduct a two-day training workshop for TV/radio producers, bloggers, online journalists (i.e. journalists who do not work for the mainstream media) from across Uganda on oil and gas issues. “

We hope the participants can go on to report and comment more knowledgeably on this emerging sector that is bound to be a large part of our economy for decades,” reads a statement from the African Centre for Media Excellence.