The Omukama of Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom, his highness Dr. Solomon Gafabusa Iguru Agutamba Rukirabasaija is not happy with the European Union Parliament over a resolution to delay the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) for a year.
The EU Parliament wants the entire EACOP project delayed citing alleged gross human rights violations and environmental concerns.
Speaking on behalf of the Omukama, Andrew Byakutaga, the Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom prime minister says the Omukama is not happy with the EU resolution to delay the EACOP Project. He is concerned the delay could frustrate the development of oil and gas infrastructure needed to pump oil out of Bunyoro Kingdom.
According to Byakutaga, Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom is deeply concerned by the resolution adding that the Kingdom is aware that the government undertook Impact Assessments as part of the project implementation process.The ESIA’s according to Byakutaga identified mitigation measures to address the potential adverse effects of the project on the environment and host communities..
He says the EU Parliament should have consulted the government and the Kingdom first before embarking on what he termed as baseless resolution.
Byakutaga says the Kingdom is in full support of the government to immediately construct the EACOP saying the region has already started benefiting from the oil project citing the construction of the Oil roads, provision of jobs, establishment of Hoima city and improvement in other infrastructures.
Byakutaga further explains that the EACOP Environmental social impact Assessment -ESIA was comprehensively done and approved by National Environmental Management Authority -adding that the Kingdom was a witness to the -ESIA studies that were conducted by the government of Uganda.
The European Parliament resolution adopted on Thursday last week raised concern over human rights violations in Uganda and Tanzania linked to investments in the oil and gas sector.
The EU Parliament zeroed on wrongful imprisonment of human rights defenders, the arbitrary suspension of NGOs, arbitrary prison sentences and the eviction of hundreds of people from their land without fair and adequate compensation.
According to the EU Parliament, more than 100,000 people were at risk of being displaced by the EACOP project and demanded for them to be adequately compensated.
The EU Parliament also tasked to put to an end the extractive activities in the protected and sensitive ecosystems including the shores of lake Albert citing the 132 wells that Total Energies plans to dig into the Murchison Falls which is a protected area National Park and to other protected areas where the heated EACOP pipeline will go through.
The 1,443km crude oil export pipeline will transport Uganda’s crude oil from Hoima in Uganda to the Chongoleani peninsula near Tanga port in Tanzania.
It is envisaged to be the longest electrically heated pipeline in the world and will cross through 10 districts in Uganda, a distance of 296 kilometers, and 25 districts in Tanzania, covering eight regions and 25 districts. The government rolled out the program of acquiring land for the project in August 2018.
According to the agreed plan, the pipeline route will begin from Hoima through Kikuube, Kakumiro, Kyankwanzi, Mubende, Gomba, Sembabule, Lwengo, Kyotera, and Rakai, and cross the Tanzania border between Masaka and Bukoba, and traverse Tanzania through Kahama, Singida, Kondoa, into Tanga.
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