EACOP: PAPs petition Mengo government in compensation challenges
KAMPALA, March 31, 2025 – Representatives of people affected by the East African Crude Oil Pipeline [ EACOP ] project, commonly known as project affected persons [PAPs], have run to Bulange, Mengo, the seat of Buganda Kingdom, seeking solutions to their compensation predicament.
The group comprising people from the districts of Lwengo, Kyotera and Rakai districts petitioned the kingdom government days ago after largely failing to strike agreements with the handlers of the compensation process for their land, through which the oil pipeline is meant to pass through as it heads to Tanzania.
Wilberforce Ssebuliba Gonzaga who led the team pointed out the challenges faced by the PAPs including undervaluation of property where crops and trees were disregarded, restrictions introduced by the project officials for the local to access their food crops, and coercion of the PAPs into signing compensation agreements they did not understand.
He also alleged that some of the property owners were evicted from their land before compensation, stating that this is a blatant violation of their rights.
The officials from the Bulange based establishment expressed concern over the violations occasioned by the project handlers on the people who own property.
The Minister for Cabinet Affairs, Noah Kiyimba remarked that, while the government is keen on oil exploration, it should not do so at the cost of the lives of its people.
“No person should be denied their right to own property and have an enjoyable stay in their country,” Kiyimba said during the meeting at Bulange, Mengo.
He promised to share the PAPs’ concerns with Katikkiro Charles Peter Mayiga, noting that the kingdom would conduct an investigation into the reported grievances.
He said Buganda Kingdom officials would visit the affected areas to assess the situation and engage with the PAPs for possible solutions.
The minister also urged the PAP to closely work with the County Chief for Buddu Pokino who would provide a sustainable link with the Kingdom in Kampala to allow dialogue with the Central Government.
All the affected districts are under the political and administrative jurisdiction of Pokino, the County Head of Buddu County under Buganda Kingdom.
The latest data on the EACOP project shows that 99.4 percent of the PAPs in both Uganda and Tanzania have been fully compensated. 3, 759 of the PAPs are found in Uganda while 9,927 live in Tanzania.
The EACOP project runs from Bunyoro Kingdom in Hoima district, through Buganda to the south of the country into Tanzania to Tanga Port on the Indian Ocean in Tanzania.
The oil line will be used to transit crude oil from Bunyoro to the East African coast for export.
The Government of Uganda recently secured the project loan of US$ 1 billion [about Shs 3.7 trillion], which is a fraction of US$ 2.3BLN fund needed under the debt component to support the construction of EACOP.
According to government, the funds were provided by the African Export Import Bank [Afreximbank], Saudi Arabia’s Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, Standard Bank of South Africa, Kenya Commercial Bank Uganda Limited and Stanbic Bank Uganda Limited.
Data indicates that the overall ground installations under the EACOP in both Uganda and Tanzania stands at 48.5 percent while the construction of the storage terminals at Tanga Port stands at 76 percent. Overall works of the project are said to stand at 55 percent.
https://thecooperator.news/eacop-laying-of-infrastructure-to-unlock-oil-production-progressing-well/
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