French oil and gas giant
The development of oil and gas infrastructure in
It is anticipated that part of the 1.4 billion barrels of oil discovered in the
TotalEnergies EP Uganda is working with
Some Have Benefitted
The effect of the flow of so-called "petrodollars" to a region whose people have for ages begged for development is visible to those who have been to this area long before oil and gas were discovered there. From once-dirt roads to several newly constructed tarmacked roads, an international airport near completion, and new iron-roofed houses in some communities as compensation to the Project-Affected Persons (PAPs), as they are commonly referred to in the Districts of Hoima, Buliisa, Kikuube, and Nwoya.
"I think oil has impacted the Buliisa district greatly. Because I would not expect this road. Can you imagine a tarmac road has reached my home? It is because of oil. It was going to take us many years to get such good roads if the oil project had not kicked off," says Mugaye Richard.
While there are serious environmental concerns related to the developments, the developers and the government are determined to proceed. Some residents, like Richard Mugaye, have benefited from compensation in cash or had new houses say they benefited way before the oil gets out of the ground.
"I'm expecting an even better life when oil production begins," says Amina Lubyayi, a 38-year-old mother of seven who lives near the Buhuka flats, where
Lubyayi is among those who had houses constructed for by CNOOC under the King Fisher resettlement action program in Buhuka flats.
"Our house was walled with mud and reeds. The mud would collapse whenever it rained. That is no more; I used to cook from a makeshift kitchen, but now I have a permanent one. We have light from solar, and we have a pit latrine, too," Lubyayi told IPS.
Over 100 kilometers away from Kikuube to Buliisa district, 40-year-old Phinehas Owor-Mungu is planting fruit trees in the gardens of his newly acquired four-roomed stone-built house.
He told IPS that he was among the "lucky ones" whose land and developments were affected by
"You see, sometimes, when you are eating well, your neighbors may be jealous. People have been compensated. Those who opted for cash got their cash, and we who opted for houses have had houses built for us. The roads here have improved, and people are getting employed. And then one says people are worse off?"
Down the road, 33-year-old Stephen Enach is busy placing a slab on a pit latrine to one of the houses that will soon be handed over to another person affected by the oil projects.
Jobs like Enach's have become plentiful, and many young men and women are directly working with
So far, 12,000 jobs have been created, according to Betty Namubiru, the Manager of National Content at the
"It is important to note that 94 percent of the 12,000 are Ugandans. We hope to hit 160,000 jobs when the construction of facilities is at its peak. And more Ugandans will have more opportunities," Namubiru told IPS.
Compensation Complaints
Fred Lukumu, the District chairperson, told IPS that while the
"So many people have lost their lives before earning their compensation which they were entitled to because of the delay. There has also been an outcry that compensation rates have been generally low. Especially for land."
He told IPS that land in Buliisa district was valued at
Fred Balikenda is one of those who have refused to be relocated from their land before they are adequately compensated. He is a resident of Kigwera sub-county, where
"They came and fenced my land illegally. They were supposed to construct a house for me before I vacated. The road which I was using was closed," he narrated. "A man will remain a man. I will stay here. If they don't pay me
Peter Lokeris, Minister of State for Minerals, is one of the government officers who has tried to resolve compensation-related complaints. He told IPS that the
"We shall have to repay the oil companies the money they have used to build houses and pay compensation. They are not free," he said. "So, if we think that we will cheat the companies, the companies will cheat us. If we produce and there is no profit, we shall not earn anything as a country."
In July,
"Critically,
"Most lands were initially evaluated in 2017-2019. Compensation was not received until three to five years later, in 2022 or 2023. Considerable hardship accrued from these delays that were also poorly communicated amidst confusion over the ability to access crops during this time," the
"EACOP has been a disaster for the tens of thousands who have lost the land that provided food for their families and an income to send their children to school and who received too little compensation from
Dickens Kamugisha, a lawyer and the Executive Director of the
"We have seen hundreds of Ugandans who are being displaced without fair and adequate compensation. The constitution says you must give those who are affected adequate and fair compensation."
"These measures were aimed at mitigating the effects of these delays on the PAPs in their daily lives. In practice, most people interviewed by
Another man said: "For three years, I did not access my coffee plants. Two kids dropped out of school. My revenue went from 4 million [ush] to 1 million [ush] a year. They gave me 30 percent."
"I can tell you that we always take care of community concerns. There are so many reports by third parties. Not by us because nobody believes in us. The fact is that you can have one or two people who may not be happy with the way they are relocated. But we are doing that in the best standards possible."
However,
Why the Delay in Compensation?
Ernest Rubondo, the Executive Director at the
He explained that the processes of land acquisition and compensation in
"First of all, you have to properly identify the land that you would like to acquire. Secondly, you have to confirm the number of people who are on the land. And that isn't always easy because the land ownership systems in the country are quite different," he said. "There are many people sitting in
Rubondo told IPS that in some instances, they found people occupying land but had no proof of ownership and did not know how much land they had, especially in the Albertine region, where land had not been titled right from the colonial period.
The Determination of Compensation Rates
According to Rubondo, the determination of compensation rates originated from the district where the land is located.
"The district has to propose the rate; the government Chief Government Valuer has to compare them with what happens in other districts and the other values. As you would expect, no one ever accepts that this is the right amount for 'my land'. So, you start going back and forth," explained Rubondo.
He said once the rates are determined, they are communicated to the landowners who had options whether to receive cash compensation in exchange land for land, or have houses built for them.
"For those that opt for cash, you have to help them to open bank accounts; then you have to educate them on how to handle the money. Because NGOs are saying it is unfair to get these large amounts of money and put them in the hands of people who have never had such large sums of money," added Rubondo. "You will never have all of them to agree. You put those who disagree in a certain bracket. So that process is not short."
He noted that the value of the land identified for the project changes per year.
"The delays have been recognized. And these project-affected persons are being compensated for the delay at a rate of 15 percent per year. Thirty percent of the value of land compensation for disturbance is a disturbance allowance. And then they are given things like food to take them through the transition."
However, Dickens Kamugisha told IPS that government officers tended to prioritize fast-tracking projects like EACOP regardless of the complaints by PAPs.
"It's those officials who say that they have learned from the failures of those other oil producers, that they will not repeat those mistakes. But when you say the project must move on when you know that there are things you must address, what are you doing to your country? What are you doing to your citizens?" asked Kamugisha.
Compensations Update
IPS received information from the Petroleum Authority about the status of compensation under the
The total land requirement for the
The acquisition of land for the KFDA was concluded at 100%. The total land requirement for the KFDA is approximately 1,020 acres with 727 Project Affected Persons (PAPs). Sixty-five (65) resettlement houses were constructed and handed over to the owners.
EACOP Compensation Ugandan Side
The total land taken for the EACOP project was estimated at 2,740 acres, housing four construction camps, heating stations, and the pipeline right of way (ROW). The compensation stood at 84 percent, with 3,062 out of 3,656 having received their compensation and a total of 177 resettlement houses handed over to the respective owners.
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