Mukalazi - I have a few clarifying questions:

1. What is the content of the agreement?

2: What mechanism, if any, does parliament have to stop such a transaction?

3. How narrowly does the parliamentary resolution define "transaction?" 

Aidoo, brief response to your questions.

1. The agreements in Uganda are not yet accessible. The ones that were signed before were deposited in the Parliamentary Library and can only be accessed by Members of parliament who are not supposed to photocopy. They can only read them from the Library.

However, the President, in an attempt to prove how he had negotiated a good deal for Ugandans, did highlight some of the contents of the new PSAs in his speech to parliament about the same. The full speech can be accessed on this link: http://tinyurl.com/75k7ctc

2. At the time of signing the agreements, a section of MPs had planned to apply for a court injunction against the transaction. Apparently, court was to sit at 2:00 PM to decide on the matter and the President, having gotten wind of it ordered his Minister of Energy to have the contracts signed at 10:00AM effectively pre-empting the court process. I doubt if there is much MPs can do at this moment.

3. The parliamentary resolution slapping a ban on oil transactions did not define transaction in detail. And that's what i exactly point out in my piece, if the executive is to depend on high level legal gymnastics to defy parliamentary resolutions then it means such agreements are not stable and can be revoked any time there is change of government. And i would expect the oil companies to be concerned about this.

Deus, is Parliament against the Oil deal because from the value for money concerns or from the legal perspectives (absence of MP approval)? What really went wrong?