France has once again told Ugandans that despite its not being in support of the construction of the highly contested East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project, they don’t have direct control over its oil giant Total Energies which is the lead company.
On Sunday, a video went viral on social media where a 20-year-old Dominika Lasota, a polish student, and a climate and social justice activist, made an aggressive demand to French president Emmanuel Macron to publicly denounce the EACOP.
“Will you be the president that will end the era of fossil fuels?” she asks Macron in an unscheduled conversation on the sidelines of what appears to be a conference.
“There is the East African Crude Oil pipeline that goes through Uganda and Tanzania. We need you to stop this. Stop this investment that’s done by Total. Stop it this year, right now, by the time of Total’s Annual General Meetin,”
In the contested 1443km EACOP project Total owns 62%, Ugandan Government 15%, CNOOC 8%, and Tanzanian government 15%.
The crude Pipeline will transport crude oil from Hoima Uganda to Port Tanga in Tanzania.
Speaking during the engagement with a delegation from France by Senator Olivier Cardiac, opposition MPs tasked the delegation to confirm President Macron’s commitment to Ugandans.
These showed concern at France’s reluctance to stop French companies from exploiting Uganda’s fossil fuels in accordance with the Paris Agreement on climatic change.
“Coming from your country, even if they are private, to promote the use of fossil oils that are being run away from. Isn’t it a contradiction?” Hon Asuman Basalirwa, the Bugiri Municipality MP Asked.
” It is a very big contradiction. You should be encouraging your companies to help developing countries to begin engaging in alternative sources of energy,” he said.
In response, Jules Armand Aniambossou the French Ambassador re-echoed his President’s statement telling the meeting that TotalEnergies is a private French company without government control.
“Our view about this project as per President Macron’s letter to President
Concerns
Last week, residents of Mubende district through Strategic Response on Environmental Conservation (STREG) petitioned Stanbic and Absa Banks, asking them to desist from financing the project.
“For instance, in Uganda, the EACOP project will affect 10 districts of Hoima, Kikuube, Kakumiro, Kyankwanzi, Mubende, Gomba, Sembabule, Lwengo, Rakai, and Kyotera; 27 Sub-counties, 3 Town Councils and 171 Villages. Through the compulsory land acquisition, the project will abuse the land rights of over 13,000 households’ in Uganda and Tanzania. Of these 13,000, roughly 200 households in Uganda and 331 households in Tanzania will have to be resettled, and approximately 3,200 to 3,500 households in Uganda and 9513 households in Tanzania will be economically displaced according to Oxfam, 2020,” Cirrus Kabaale, the Founder of STREG said
“The EACOP affected communities continue to suffer from untold grievances such as low and unfair compensation for crops, stopping communities from using their land to grow perennial crops and set up new developments has worsened poverty, food insecurity and has increased school drop-out rates, especially among the girls,” he added
Kabaale said that worst of all, the pipeline will run alongside the Lake Victoria Basin. Supporting projects of this nature is like committing suicide to over 40 million people who rely on it for drinking water and food production.
“In case of any oil spill from the pipeline at any point, there is a great risk that the spill will poison the lake and local communities will be left with no other means of survival. We are also concerned about the loss of habitats and disturbances in ecosystems due to oil activities in Uganda could result in the migration of animals to the DRC and other neighboring countries. This would result in human-wildlife conflicts, which could negatively affect environmental conservation efforts. This would be most unfortunate as our countries make money off tourism,” he said
Museveni is that, it is the right of Ugandans to develop their oil sector but the rights of the people must be respected – their rights on land, there must be compensation of the community,” Armand said.
He added that the French government is also keen on protecting the environment, an issue it had made clear to the French companies involved in the project.
The EACOP project has experienced a huge backlash, especially from activists who have for long cited environmental concerns.
Gov’t Response
Since the declaration of the Final Investment Decision by Oil companies, the government has by day declared intentions of ensuring that they achieve the first oil by 2025.
For example in reaction to Lasota’s video Ruth Nankabirwa, Uganda’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Development,
“They (activists) should know that as a country we are eager to start producing our oil and gas come 2025,” she said
“Uganda is striving for responsible exploitation of its oil and gas resources through appropriate policy and regulation aimed at energy integration rather than energy transition,” she added
