Total Energies EP Uganda together with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development on Tuesday commenced the hand over of 105 resettlement houses and titles to Project Affected Persons (PAPs) or people whose primary residence was impacted during the identification of land for the construction of the Tilenga Project facilities and associated infrastructure in Buliisa District.
The 105 houses are part of the planned 205 houses to be built and comprise 2, 3 and 4 bedrooms (depending on the size of the original structure), a sitting area, a veranda, an outside kitchen, a solar-powered system, rainwater Harvest Water Tank (5,000 litres), and a VIP Latrine.
The structures are located on parcels of land chosen by the affected households and have been designed to last for at least 25 years before any major refurbishment is required. The completion and handover of the remaining 100 houses are planned for the end of August 2023.
All beneficiary households have been assisted by Total Energies EP Uganda to acquire free-hold land titles and are supported during the relocation and acclimatization process to include participation in the various livelihood restoration programs. They also received transitional and psycho-social support. Specific emphasis is also placed on joint spousal participation throughout the entire process.
Speaking at the handover ceremony held at a Kirama Village, Kigwera Sub-county in Buliisa district, Mr Philippe Groueix, General Manager- Total Energies EP Uganda said, “The handover we are witnessing today as well as the activities we are undertaking for livelihood restoration are enshrined in one of our sustainable development pillars focused on people’s well-being. Ultimately, we would like to contribute towards creating a positive impact and shared value with the people affected by the project and those living in the vicinity of our activities.”
The handover ceremony was officiated by Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu, the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development who said the total amount spent on compensation of the PAPs is US Dollars 12,760,036, and a balance of US Dollars 3,911,620 for the remaining compensation. She also urged people who received money to utilize and invest this monies profitably.
“The Project is targeting to construct a total of 235 replacement houses for Project Affected Persons (PAPs) in the three districts of Buliisa (193), Hoima (40) and Kikuube (2). So far, 130 houses have been completed for PAPs across all Resettlement Action Plans (RAPs), with 30 houses for RAP1 and 100 houses covering Resettlement Action Plan (RAPs) 2-5. All houses will be handed over with land titles. More than 65 sites are currently at various levels of construction progress within the three districts,” she said.
The Minister added that the government made a promise to implement Uganda’s oil and gas projects while safeguarding the environment and transforming the lives of people.
“We shall sustainably exploit Uganda’s natural resources for social and economic transformation,” said Hon Nankabirwa.
Nankabirwa explained that under RAPs 2-5, the Project has accessed 83 per cent of the required project land taken for the other Tilenga development infrastructure and compensated 95 per cent (4,695 out of 4,930) of the PAPs. However, there are land parcels that remain inaccessible to the project because ten PAPs have refused the compensation packages approved by the Chief Government Valuer, despite several negotiation and mediation engagements with them.
Secondly, six PAPs cannot be traced or reached despite several media announcements and posters in this regard within the communities and lastly, there are twenty-seven land ownership disputes among the PAPs.
She however promised that her Ministry will continue to undertake the necessary engagements to ensure all these land parcels are acquired for the Project on time. She however cautioned that the timeline for concluding this RAP exercise is June/July 2023.
Meanwhile, the entire project requires approximately 1,850 Hectares (4,571 Acres) of land in which land already leased to the company (including camps) is 99 Acres, 3,543 Acres is to be acquired through Private acquisition, 736 Acres is to be acquired through Public Land acquisition and a contingency of 195 Acres.
At the ceremony, TotalEnergies EP Uganda also commemorated 10 years of the local scholarship program that has benefitted over 270 students from the districts of Buliisa, Nwoya, Pakwach, Masindi and Nebbi.
The beneficiaries are supported to access O’level and A’level education with an emphasis on science subjects at top schools in the country.
The Tilenga project will have over 400 wells drilled on 31 well pads and a Central Processing Facility (CPF) with the capacity to process 190,000 barrels of oil per day. The Project will also include a 110km 24-inch feeder pipeline from the CPF to transport processed crude to a delivery point at Kabaale, Hoima District. The sizes of the feeder pipelines shall be large enough to allow tie-ins of production from future discoveries.
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