Throughout this week, TotalEnergies EP Uganda has been very busy distributing start-up kits to Project Affected Persons (PAPs), in a compensation scheme aimed at boosting Buliisa community house hold incomes.
These locals, who were adversely impacted by the operations of Total’s Tilenga Oil Project hope to leverage on these kits, to shower up their income sources, a move intended to materialize into an enabling strategy, suitable for sustainable and inclusive economic growth.
Project Affected Persons (PAPs) have been equipped with these start-up kits under the Resettlement Action Plan 1 (RAP 1), to create income generating activities, which is an important step in improving their standards of living.
The program was as a result of a timely and systematic assessment and research, which led to the identification of 104 PAPs under different categories of different vocational study courses to be compensated.
These locals, including 5 plumbers, 6 caterers, 6 Welders,12 tailors, 5 Hairdressers and 70 mechanics are to be given these kits, after the completion of vocational skills training programs, masterminded by Future Options Consulting Limited in the villages of Kisomere, Kirama, Kasenyi and Kilima in Buliisa district.
This impressive scheme geared at compensating and resettling PAPs is part of Total’s effort and commitment to empower the aggrieved locals negatively impacted by the project, through a Global Livelihood Restoration programme, tailored towards restoring, transitioning, and improving their standards of living, by leveraging on the available household livelihood resources.
The initiative is also in tandem with the UN Sustainable Development Goal No.1 which stresses No poverty, 8 which stresses Decent work and Economic growth and 10 whose aim is to reduce social inequalities.
Mariam Nampeera Mbowa, the Deputy General Manager, TotalEnergies EP Uganda stressed the readiness by TotalEnergies, to help the Tilenga community affected persons with innovative solutions to enable them realize the importance of life on Plannet earth.
She cited a number of initiatives by Total to achieve sustainable household income growth, which are in corelation with International standards and also predate United Nations sustainable development goals.
“TotalEnergies EP Uganda is conscious of its responsibility to support the economic upliftment of the Tilenga host community and most especially the project affected persons. Our commitment to fulfil this responsibility has consistently been showed through the delivery of various initiatives under our Global Livelihood Restoration programme that is consistent with international standards and requirements. The start-up kits are a symbol of this commitment and will go a long way in boosting the self-sustainability and household incomes of the PAPs,” Mariam Nampeera Mbowa stressed.
It should of course be remembered that TotalEnergies EP Uganda has also supported PAPs under RAP-1 with various innovative and value addition agricultural programs.
Key among these include provision of high-yield cassava stems, beehives and harvesting gear to set up apiary projects, vegetable farming, and enabled the formation of Village Local Saving Associations.
Total was also instrumental in overseeing social programs such as the construction of the Kirama water project which is touted to be a lifeline for Kirama village residents in Buliisa, and the building of the new Avogera Health Centre III.
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