A national oil and gas policy that will determine how Uganda will manage resources accruing from the national resource, is in the offing, an official has said.

Kamanda Bataringaya, state minister for energy, was quoted by Daily Monitor on Saturday as saying that the policy was ready and would soon be tabled before cabinet for discussion.

"The policy is at the ministry level. It will enable the creation of institutions, which will manage the resources and ensure that the oil resources are used for developing social infrastructure," Kamanda said recently in Nairobi attending the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Uganda has had an energy mix from hydro, thermal to renewable energy. This, according to him, has enabled the government fight the current energy crisis being experienced.

"African countries need to build capacity and develop regional joint strategies to promote oil investment," he said.

UNCTAD director of trade division Lakshmi Puri said through its work on energy in Africa, the body will seek to enable both exporting and importing countries achieve oil security.

Puri said key policy objectives to meet economic growth and development needs include channeling oil revenues into capital investments in national and regional infrastructure development and basic services.

"The oil and gas industry is the most important wealth creating sector on the continent. For some countries, it generates over 90 percent of total revenues and it accounts for over 50 percent of Gross Domestic Product," Puri said.

She said a survey of African importers by the African Development Bank (ADB) shows that 28 countries spend more than 10 percent of their total imports on oil.

Puri said the tremendous volatility in international oil prices has an impact not only on budget revenue and expenditure but on national economies as a whole.

This, she said, has affected the transportation sector and the movement and supply of goods leading to slower economic growth and erosion of export competitiveness.

"Importing countries need to address measures that would allow for spreading the costs of higher oil prices over a long period of time. Such policies include structured finance and risk management instruments," Puri said.

Uganda's Commissioner Petroleum exploration Reuben Kashambuzi said Uganda currently spends 413 million U.S. dollars annually on oil imports. "This is bad for our country compared to our traditional earning," Kashambuzi said.