Dismissing the European Union’s (EU) allegations of “rights violations” against the Uganda-Tanzania East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Friday pledged to continue the project “as stipulated” and warned that if the French contractor Total Energies chooses “to listen to the European Parliament, we shall find someone else to work with.”
In the same vein, Ugandan Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa denounced the European Parliament’s (EP) opposition to the EACOP, which will connect the oil-rich Hoima region in Uganda with the Indian Ocean via Tanzania’s Tanga port, as “economic racism against developing countries” and “deliberate misinformation.” He added that it reflects “the highest level of neocolonialism and imperialism against the sovereignty of Uganda and Tanzania,” and curtails their oil and gas advancement and socio-economic development.
Tayebwa accused the EU of “doublespeak” and “hypocrisy,” stating that the EU is “historically responsible for climate change” and continues to emit 20% of global greenhouse gases, while the transboundary pipeline would only account for 0.5% of the global carbon emissions. “Who then should stop or slow down on development of natural resources? Certainly not Africa or Uganda,” he asserted.
Either way, we shall have our oil coming out by 2025 as planned. So, the people of Uganda should not worry.
— Yoweri K Museveni (@KagutaMuseveni) September 16, 2022
Tanzanian Energy Minister January Makamba, too, defended the project, stressing that while “some physical displacement and economic impact is unavoidable,” the government is pursuing concrete efforts to ensure adequate compensation and rehabilitation for those displaced.
He highlighted that the Tanzanian government is offering either cash compensation or replacement housing, as well as livelihood opportunities and transitional food aid to 9513 Project Affected Persons (PAPs), reaffirming that “no land will be accessed by the project until compensation has been paid and notice to vacate has been given.”
So Uganda Gov didn’t provide information on #EACOP to the public as they had to before signing with Total. Now that the EU has informed the public of the need for a closer look, there is a backlash!! Fill the information gap & let’s have the best & most informed deal as a region.
— Emmanuel Wabwire (@Wabwire1) September 17, 2022
The east African neighbours’ criticism came after the EC on Wednesday adopted a resolution that expressed “grave concerns” about the human rights violations linked to foreign investments from French multinational oil company TotalEnergies (Total) and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) in two pipeline projects—Tilenga and EACOP—in the two countries.
The joint statement, based on an environmental assessment by the international non-profit Friends of the Earth, warned that the construction of the EACOP would have “serious adverse impacts for communities within the oil extraction and pipeline areas,” and could displace over 118,000 people. The EC said the pipeline would also endanger marine protected areas and contaminate water sources near Lake Albert and Lake Victoria, besides being highly vulnerable, as it will be built in an ecologically fragile high tsunami risk zone.
The resolution also lambasted the Ugandan and Tanzanian governments for gross human rights violations, including wrongful arrests, arbitrary prison sentences, the suspension of civil society organisations protesting against the project, and illegal eviction of natives “without fair and adequate compensation.”
This is disgusting. I can’t believe you are MP in Uganda. Man, @TotalEnergies are the imperialists. Leaving you with ridiculous 15% share in EACOP project. Stop selling out your country! #StopEACOP
— Malte Gallée (@galleerie) September 17, 2022
Ps: I fight for open borders for everybody. Hope you apologise one day https://t.co/9RG4340g9U
In this regard, the EU urged the “international community to exert maximum pressure” on the stakeholders involved in the pipeline and called on the two governments to revisit the terms of the project. It also pushed for Total Energies to postpone its implementation by one year and explore “an alternative route to better safeguard protected and sensitive ecosystems and the water resources” of the Great Lakes region, which supports over 40 million people in the two countries.
The EU’s condemnation of the Tilenga and EACOP projects was also seconded by Juliette Renaud from Friends of the Earth, who reiterated that the “human, environmental, and climate costs (of the projects) are undeniable and simply unacceptable.”
Last March, a group of 263 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) came together to publish an open letter to the chief executives of 25 banks urging them not to finance the EACOP project. The letter noted: “The emissions from burning that oil would release an estimated 34.3 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) per year, an amount that dwarfs the current annual emissions of Uganda and Tanzania combined, and is roughly equivalent to the carbon footprint of nearly nine coal-fired power plants.”
You really do get it.
— StopEACOP (@stopEACOP) September 19, 2022
Reminds me of the saying, "if you are not on the table, then consider yourself part of the menu."
Ugandans and Tanzanians have not seen key agreements on EACOP, and we are told all is well.
ALL IS NOT WELL#StopEACOP https://t.co/U1CruOTyWV
However, both the governments and the investors involved in the projects have refuted these allegations. For instance, Ugandan Member of Parliament John Teira rubbished the claims made by the EU’s parliamentarians and accused them of being “overzealous.”
He added that all measures have been put in place for safe and scientific waste disposal and “there is nothing to fear when it comes to environmental issues so no one should touch the project because we are talking about an investment of $29 billion.”
Similarly, the EACOP contended that a major portion of the pipeline will be underground and “once topsoil and vegetation have been reinstated, people and animals will be able to cross freely anywhere along its length.”
Fred the Community Liaison officer EACOP project at Talaa Forest clarifying on misleading statements that the EACOP will pass through a natural forest.
— GENO ERIC (@genoeric1) September 20, 2022
Hey @HillaryTaylorVI take look.#SUPPORTEACOP @TotalEnergiesUG pic.twitter.com/VNlDya9K7W
This was echoed by Total, which asserted that the oil pipeline will be an “exemplary project” that fosters “transparency, shared prosperity, economic and social progress, sustainable development, with environmental consideration and respect for human rights.”
The $3.5 billion 1,443-kilometre long EACOP oil and gas pipeline, first signed in September 2020 and then formalised with Total and CNOOC in April 2021, hopes to take advantage of Uganda and Tanzania’s rich oil reserves and will connect fields in western Uganda to the Indian Ocean port of Tanga in Tanzania. It will utilise the 1.4 billion barrels of recoverable oil reserves to fill around 230,000 barrels per day.
Hi Kyamu, the oil companies & @TotalEnergiesUG in particular are executing initiatives aimed at raising awareness in regards to environment, social, human rights and biodiversity protection for the Tilenga in line with national + international laws, regulations, and standards https://t.co/R00s3qiYeC
— Stephen Muneza. PR (@stephenkmuneza) September 18, 2022
The planned projects have intense resistance from environmental activists and civil society actors, who point to its devastating impact on the region’s ecology. They highlight that it will displace and disrupt the livelihoods of millions and degrade the biodiversity in the area, as the pipeline will pass through seven forest reserves and two vital freshwater sources—Lake Victoria and Lake Albert.
Ugandan President Museveni, however, has underscored: “Either way, we shall have our oil coming out by 2025 as planned. So, the people of Uganda should not worry.” He has previously said that the pipeline could create upwards of 18,000 jobs, “promote cooperation within the region,” and “stimulate economic development”