In a statement issued on Tuesday, EACOP addressed allegations that landowners in Kikuube District had not been compensated or were facing potential eviction without compensation. According to EACOP's compensation records, only one project-affected person remains unpaid.
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Classroom block constructed in Sembabule as part of the EACOP Compensation
The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) Uganda has reaffirmed its commitment to environmental preservation and biodiversity protection along the pipeline route. In a statement issued on Tuesday, EACOP addressed allegations that landowners in Kikuube District had not been compensated or were facing potential eviction without compensation. According to EACOP's compensation records, only one project-affected person in Kikuube district has not been compensated. He had allegedly raised some grievances about related the amount offered.
The statement, released by EACOP’s Communication Lead, Stella Amony, was in response to claims made by activists in Kikuube District on Sunday, December 8, 2024. The activists alleged unfair compensation and raised concerns about the potential environmental impact of the pipeline.
Amony clarified in an interview with URN that compensation rates during the land acquisition process for the EACOP project were set by district authorities. As of December 2024, EACOP reported that 3,730 out of 3,762 landowners (99%) had signed their compensation agreements.
According to the company, 3,703 (98%) landowners of Project
Affected Persons (PAPs) in Uganda have been paid. It further states that all
177 replacement houses have been constructed and handed over to the landowner
who opted to have houses constructed for them.
The company stated that it has established a field-based team
of Community Relations Coordinators and Community Liaison Officers in Uganda
and Tanzania to ensure an accessible grievance mechanism.
“We encourage the reporting of grievances through our
established grievance mechanism, which has enabled us to address and resolve
almost 1,000 cases in Uganda to date. Should there be specific grievances from
individuals who are EACOP PAPs or from EACOP impacted communities, we commit to
investigating, with confidentiality, and do our utmost to resolve them," said the
statement.
Latest compensation statistics posts on EACOP website indicate
that 83 landowners (PAPS) were affected and that all of them had signed
compensation agreements. It further indicated that all the 83 landowners in Hoima
had been fully compensated.
In Kikuube, EACOP says 436 landowners had been fully compensated.
Only one landowner had not been compensated.
About the environmental concerns, East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP)
Ltd said it is committed to world-class environmental and social compliance. “EACOP is carrying out the process of land acquisition in
compliance with national laws and the applicable international standards including
the International Finance Corporation (IFC) performance standards,” it said.
It said the EACOP pipeline route was finalized based on
rigorous environmental, biodiversity, social, and engineering studies.
“The studies applied the mitigation hierarchy to avoid, minimize,
restore, and offset. Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs) were
undertaken and approved in both countries - National Environment Management
Authority (NEMA) in Uganda on 21st November 2019 and National
Environment Management Council (NEMC) in Tanzania on 30th November 2020”
The East African Crude Oil Pipeline is a 1,443km crude oil
export infrastructure that will transport Uganda’s crude oil from Kabaale -
Hoima in Uganda to the Chongoleani peninsula near Tanga in Tanzania for export
to the international market. This major export system includes 1,443 km (296 km
in Uganda and 1147km in Tanzania) of insulated and buried 24-inch pipelines, 6
pumping stations, two pressure reduction stations, and a marine export terminal
in Tanzania.
Following the Final Investment Decision (FID) that was taken
on the 1st of February 2022, East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) Ltd. on
15th February concluded the formation of the company that will construct and
operate the pipeline. EACOP Ltd. is a special purpose company, governed by its
Shareholders Agreement in which TotalEnergies (62%), Uganda National Oil
Company (UNOC - 15%), Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC - 15%)
and CNOOC (8%) are share
