President Yoweri Museveni has appointment professionals in the oil, mines and environment field as members of the new Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU) Board of Directors.
Ms. Lynda Biribonwa, an environment, health, and safety specialist, has been appointed Chairperson of the Board, succeeding Dr. Jane N. Mulemwa, whose second and final four-year term ended in May, 2024.
Following their successful vetting and approval by the Parliamentary Appointment Committee in June 2024, the President appointed Ms. Biribonwa to lead the six member board of PAU on June 18th, in accordance with Section 17 (2) of the Petroleum (Exploration, Development, and Production) Act, 2021.
Ms. Biribonwa, a certified Lead Environmental Management Systems Auditor with over twenty-three years of experience in environment, health, and safety at strategic, policy, compliance, and practitioner levels, brings her environmental engineering and finance expertise to the Board.
She holds an MBA in Oil and Gas from CWS School of Energy, London, UK; an MSc in Environment and Development from the University of Reading, UK; and a BA (Hons) in Environmental Management and Business Administration from Keele University, Staffordshire, UK.
Ms. Biribonwa has served on the previous Board as the head of the Governance, Board, and Audit Committee which develops and recommends policies and procedures to ensure sound governance practices are in.
Other members appointed include Mr. Bernard Ongodia, a Geophysicist with over twenty years of experience in Petroleum Exploration, Development, and Production, and currently the Principal, Uganda Petroleum Institute, Kigumba (UPIK).
Also appointed is Mr. Adrian Bukenya, the Country Director for the Mastercard Foundation in Uganda, with over twenty years of global professional experience in the energy, infrastructure, and financial services sectors; and Mr. Innocent Kihika, an Energy Lawyer with over twenty-five years of experience in Energy, Mining, and Infrastructure Law.
Ongodia, Bukenya and Kihika will be serving their second term having been reappointed.
Members serving on the board for the first time are Mrs. Oduka Ochan Achan, Ms. Solome Galiwango and Prof. Vincent Bagire.
Achan is a finance specialist with over forty-two years of experience in financial planning, marketing, strategic planning, program/project design management, institutional and organisational development, communication, and banking.
Ms. Solome Galiwango, is a seasoned professional with over twenty years of experience, ten of which are in the energy sector. She is a member of the Association of Energy Engineers and the Energy Efficiency Association of Uganda.
Prof. Vincent Bagire, a management specialist with over twenty-seven years of teaching experience in strategic management is also the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research at Makerere University Business School.
The Act provides that a board member shall serve for four years, but his or her term may be renewed only once, for another four years.
It also states that the Board of Directors shall consist of seven members of high moral character, proven integrity and competence appointed by the President with the approval of Parliament.
The new Board takes over when the industry is experiencing a ramp-up in activities during the development phase and will be expected to steer the Regulatory Authority in its mandate of monitoring and regulating the oil and gas sector to create lasting value for Uganda.
According to the current government plans, this board will also oversee the production of first oil, which is expected in 2026.
Currently, ongoing activities include well drilling and construction of central processing facilities the Kingfisher and Tilenga oil and gas projects.