On 5th October 2022, students from various universities in Uganda took to the streets of Kampala to protest against the East African Crude oil pipeline(EACOP).
This would be the start of many such protests stemming from the construction of what is set to become the world’s longest heated oil pipeline from Hoima in Uganda to the port of Tanga in Tanzania.
The students raised various issues, among them the environmental effects this join venture between Total energies, China, Uganda and Tanzania on the critical great lakes region eco-system. Nine of these were arrested outside the offices of the European union in Kampala where they had brought their petition.
The students’ issues sparked international debate on the environmental effects of EACOP but that is not the only thing wrong with Uganda’s oil project. After months of investigation, interviews with experts and project affected persons, we have put together 5 things wrong with Uganda’s oil project.
Health
With all the negative outcomes that would accompany the East African Oil Crude oil pipeline in affected communities due to their resettlement, the government committed and promised to establish a health center in the Kakyaboga Resettlement area, alongside all other amenities. The government has since then however only managed to construct a primary school, churches, a police post, a market and a community center in the resettlement area.
Most of the persons directly affected by the oil refinery project say that there has been delayed construction of the health center in Kyakaboga where they have been resettled. Saddam Tekakwo, the Kyakaboga Resettlement Area Chairperson says that the health center, one of the much-needed facilities remains on paper.
The fact that no work has yet been done on the health facility in the resettled area causes various challenges for the people living in this area;
The affected persons including pregnant mothers who have to access antenatal care, children, and the elderly will have to trek to the next village to seek for medical care.
Livelihood and Adaptation
Most cases when people are displaced due to land acquisition for development projects, this affects their livelihoods that is to say loss of assets, jobs and all the things that they were dependent on and it becomes difficult to cope with the new life in the new area of resettlement.
For instance, the fishermen who were forcefully and involuntarily removed from their fishing villages to make way for the oil refineries and oil wells have lost their only source of food and livelihood but have still never been compensated.
Due to the insufficient compensation of the people that were displaced and resettled to make way for the oil refinery project in the Albertine region are finding it hard to adopt to their new lives because of the effects. Most of them lost their traditional or initial way of living their lives before they were resettled. They will have to face the new realities of life that came with the displacement. This has made it difficult for both the women and men to adapt to the new environment.
Exploitative contracts for Local workers
The Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU) is established under the Petroleum Exploitation Development and Production section 9 Act of 2013 in line with the National Oil and Gas Policy for Uganda which was approved in 2008, to monitor and regulate oil and gas activities in the country. According to the National Content Report 2019, at the beginning of January 2019, there was a total of three hundred and sixty-three (363) people directly employed in the sector, however by the end of the year the number had reduced to two hundred fifty-one (251).
This reduction of the turnover of the staff both voluntarily and involuntarily has been pointed to by experts as a demobilization strategy of the companies dealing in the oil sector.
The Upstream works which include the exploration and production of the oil is the most intensive since it requires expensive equipment and highly skilled labor. Companies plan for drilling after the oil and gas is located thus most of the oil and gas companies contract with specialized drilling firms. The contractors then hire a crew to and pay day rates, drilling depths, rock hardness, weather conditions and distance of the site. These workers are exposed to allocation risks like customary risk, well risks, pollution and wild well control among others.
However, some of the contracts given to the people willing to work in the exploration and production of oil are so Exploitative nature.
In this investigation, we came across one of the contracts for workers recruited by “Avanti Energy Service Limited” which entered into contract with COSL Uganda-SMC Limited (COSL) providing Ugandan laborers to work in the oil drilling operation in Uganda.
In this contract we found gaping loopholes in remuneration with workers paid only 12 dollars (44,433 shs) a day;
“During the continuance of this contract, the independent Contractor’s remuneration (before any applicable statutory deduction) will be USD 12 per each day that the work is completed at the assigned work location.” the contract reads in part
“The Independent Contractor shall not be compensated for a “Travel Day”, which is the day the Independent Contractor travels to the site from their place if residence to the assigned work location and the day they return to their location of residence, unless they have worked more than 6 hours at the work location completing Service for COSL.
“The independent Contractor agrees that there shall be no payments, allowances or compensations by the company for vacation, public holidays, absence from providing the services for compassionate reasons during the valid period of this contract. The independent Contractor shall not seek compensation from the company in any form during periods that they are ill or unable to provide the services to the company.”
The contract also says the worker can not hold the company liable for any damage he/she suffers while on the site. This indemnification clause goes on to spell out that the recruitment company is not sure about the safety measures at the site and has workers opt in to work under those unknown terms.
“ The independent Contractor agrees to fully indemnify the company and hold it harmless in the event arising from a lack of safety, an unforeseen condition or any other event while providing the services, undertaking any action under this agreement or traveling to and from the site.”
We reached out to one of the workers who preferred anonymity for fear of being fired from his job who confirmed that these were indeed the terms they were working under.
The Petroleum Authority of Uganda estimates that over 14,000 people will be directly employed by Ugandan companies, while about 45,000 people will be indirectly employed by the contractors. An additional 105,000 people will benefit from induced employment as a result of demand for services to support the oil and gas.
Compensation or the lack of…
According to the agreed plan, the East African Crude Oil pipeline route will begin from Hoima through Kikuube, Kakumiro, Kyankwanzi, Mubende, Gomba, Sembabule, Lwengo, Kyotera, and Rakai, and cross the Tanzania border between Masaka and Bukoba, and traverse Tanzania through Kahama, Singida, Kondoa, into Tanga.
However, since 2018, the government has not compensated all the project-affected persons yet they have since stopped using their land. The Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU) had also promised to start compensation in December 2020 or early January 2021.
According to Oxfam, over 100,000 people will be directly affected by the project in Uganda and Tanzania, with about 14,000 expected to be displaced from the 5,300 hectares of land needed for construction.
The government of Uganda mandated the oil project developers to develop and implement resettlement action plans in accordance with the laws of Uganda, IFC standards and Equator principles.
According to our sources on the ground. This hasn’t been done. Some communities have not been sensitized about the project and many along the path of the pipeline haven’t been compensated to date.
Joseph Kyamanywa, a project-affected person in Buhirigi village in Bombo sub-county wonders why the government acquired their land but has failed to compensate them close to three years now.
Some project affected persons in Hoima, Kikuube, Kyotera and Sembabule have been raising issues such as undervaluing of their properties and delayed compensation, while others, especially in Kakumiro District are concerned of unresolved conflict over land rights between tenants and landlord in regard to Mailo land.
Dr Tom Ogwang, an expert in Political Economy of Natural Resources says Uganda is at a critical point to either avoid or fall prey to the infamous oil curse;
“Uganda is at a critical point if it wants to avoid joining the growing list of resource curse countries. It needs to ensure that the land needed for oil and gas infrastructure is acquired in a fair and transparent way, and with the consent of the original land owners. People in local communities need to be fairly and promptly compensated for their land. Arguably, if land acquisition and future revenues are well managed, this could lead to economic prosperity and the improved welfare of Ugandans, however, if badly managed, there will be many negative outcomes, including protests, project delays, escalating costs, reputational damage, food insecurity, and conflict” he says
Brian Nahamya of Global Rights Alert, says that the project affected persons have been disregarded.
“It’s unfortunate that government [finalized] legal frameworks for EACOP Special Provisions 2021. Its total violation of human and community resource rights. Project affected persons were not consulted on the EACOP Bill. Sealing FID without compensation of EACOP project affected persons indicates [that] government and oil companies are so concerned [about] business than social wellbeing of affected persons,” he says.
The East African Crude oil pipeline management however says compensation of the Pipeline project affected persons will be completed this month;
“We are moving well with the project and we expect to conclude land acquisition by the end of the first quarter of 2023” EACOP Managing Director Martin Tiffen said.
“As part of the international best practices, we are required to conclude compensation before we move the project affected persons” he added
Social effects
It is not only about compensation. Because of how Uganda’s heterogeneous society is set up with different tribes and cultures or ways of life. Those displaced from the oil refinery areas have to find land to relocate in the same Bunyoro region. They may find it difficult to fit into any other region of Uganda, there are regions where foreigners (people from other regions) are not even allowed to buy land. They speak Runyoro and Alur, most are illiterate and cannot communicate in English or Kiswahili.
This means that they can only buy land in the oil rich region where property prices have now gone up by over 700% which is so expensive yet the compensation money is not enough to sustain them even in their homeland
Charles Bandahura, a project affected person in Karokarungyi village, Katikara sub-county in Kakumiro District, is one of the dissatisfied people.
He says, “the amount of money I was offered cannot find another piece of land for me to relocate with my family.”
Dr. Ogwang says the oil projects are creating a lot of such underlying social problems for the communities here which can not be solved through monetary compensation.
“However, many people have been displaced, causing food insecurity, the disintegration of social and cultural cohesion, and reduced access to social services. The influx of immigrants has increased tensions because of increasing competition for jobs. Crime and social issues such as prostitution have also increased and are expected to increase.” he says
According to a report by Oxfam, most of the communities lack information on specific details concerning the technical, compensation and even how the oil pipeline project will affect the environment.
Two hundred and sixty community groups from Uganda, Tanzania and other African countries, along with international organizations, coalesced to push #StopEACOP – a global campaign to halt the project largely through public mobilization, legal actions, research, shareholder activism and media advocacy.
The European parliament also passed a resolution seeking for the government of Uganda to deal with issues of displacement, and environmental impact. The resolution was however met with stiff resistance from the Ugandan government.
This story was produced with support from the African centre for Media Excellence(ACME)
