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OIL:
SATATEMENT ISSUED BY PUBLISH WHAT YOU PAY UGANDA - BUNYORO CHAPTER MEMBERS AT
THE END OF COMMUNITY PEOPLE’S PUBLIC HEARINGS REGARDING THE RIGHTS OF LAND
OWNERS AND ENVIRONMENTALISTS UNDER ARTICLES 244 AND 26 OF THE CONSTITUTION,
HELD IN THE VILLAGES OF KYAPULONI, KIGAAGA, BUTIMBA, KIDOMA, KABAALE, TONYA,
BUJUMBURA, KYANGWARI, KABWOYA AND KIZIRANFUMBI-BUNYORO, BETWEEN 28TH
AUGUST AND 1ST SEPTEMBER 2012
The
Africa Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO) in partnership with the
Publish What You Pay Uganda-Bunyoro Chapter (PWYP Uganda-B C), Navigators for
Development Association, World Voices Uganda and Kwatanisa Womens Group
organized 10 community hearings in the above villages entitled:
“Understanding the Rights of Individual Land Owners Under Articles 244 and 26
of the Constitution in View of the Upstream, Midstream and Downstream Oil
Bills 2012”. The hearings held were organized in each of the 10 villages
between 28th August and 1st September 2012. On average,
52 participants comprising land owners, LC officials, community elders, CBO
leaders, religious leaders, PWYP Uganda-B C executives and others
participated in each of the different hearings.
The
main objective of the Community hearings were to help the participants
especially those being affected by the oil and other projects such as the
refinery, Buseruka dam, etc to appreciate how to use Articles 244 and 26 of
the Constitution to protect their land rights and tap economic opportunities
created by the ongoing projects. The participants aimed at assessing the
situation in view of the oil bills which are before Parliament in order to
communicate their views and concerns to the legislators. We hope our
contributions will help parliament to put in place good oil laws to promote
social, economic and environmental rights of the communities for the common
good.
During
the hearings, AFIEGO lawyers and partners took the participants through
various laws and policies that provide for the protection of citizens rights
on natural resources, land, water, lakes, rivers, fisheries, cultivation,
grazing and others. The participants were also trained on the various
opportunities and challenges that are more often associated with the oil
industry and how to go through them successfully. In this respect, the
Constitution, relevant environmental laws (NEMA Act, Water Act, Tree Planting
Act, UWA Act, etc), oil laws/bills and others were reviewed to assess the
strength and weaknesses and how to fill such gaps. Specifically and with
emphasis, the 3 oil bills currently before parliament were summarized and
presented to the participants to enable them increase their appreciation of
the contents therein to ensure effective public participation in decision
making processes. The gaps were identified, observations and recommendations
made.
After
presentations and animated discussions, the hearings made the following
common observations and recommendations:
Observations
- The current
oil bills 2012 do not protect the interest of individual land owners as
envisaged under articles 244 and 26 of the Constitution 1995 (as
amended). There is no mention about the fate of land owners in the oil
bills.
- The interest
of individual land owners under Article 244(3) cannot be addressed by
flawed Resettlement Action Plans that are being prepared and compiled by
consultants who don’t understand the conditions under which the affected
communities live,
- Further, the
current Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) being undertaken regarding the
refinery will not guarantee justice because of the Minister’s failure to
put in place formal regulations for the assessment and payment of
compensation as required by section 20 of the Land Acquisition Act Cap
226. Instead, the RAP will present biased conclusions of consultants and
government which will impact on the communities negatively.
- It is
unconstitutional for the developers of the refinery to tell the local
communities not to plant perennial crops in the proposed refinery land
before payment of compensation to the affected people. This is affecting
the capacity of household heads to sustain their families
- The
participants further observed that the current section 71, and schedules
6 and 7 of the Public Finance Bill 2012 that gives 93% and 7% of the
royalties to the central government and districts respectively falls
below the standards of equity and justice as required by article 26 of
the Constitution.
- Section 71
of the above bill is a distortion of the culture established by the
Mining Act of 2003 which provides the sharing of the royalties in the
order of 80% to central government, 17% to producing districts and 3% to
land owners.
- The oil
bills 2012 also don’t provide for a land owner an option to lease where
he or she fails to agree with options of compensation or resettlement.
Leasing land will enable the land owners to continue getting rent
throughout the oil production period and recover the land after oil
exhaustion.
- The oil
bills don’t provide for compensation to include value added by the
discovery of oil on the land. This is a violation of Article 26 of the
Constitution.
- More so, all
the current oil bills do not recognize our Kingdom as the owner of
Bunyoro Kitara land and this is a disrespect of our culture contrary to
Uganda’s Constitution.
- Local
community engagements in the legislative processes and resettlement
action plans regarding oil have been very weak and sometimes lacking
completely. It is only NGOs/CBOs that are helping the communities to get
some information. To make it worse, the few engagements facilitated by
the government are conducted in English that is foreign to majority
villagers.
- There is
little access to information regarding the positive and negative impacts
of the refinery and pipelines planed to be constructed from different
oil wells to the refinery by all stakeholders for the purposes of
effective public participation.
- There is a
culture of poor implementation of laws and policies and this is already
affecting natural resources such as rivers and river banks, lakes and
lake shores, forest and game reserves/parks, grazing and agricultural
lands, fishing communities and others. If this trend continues, our
communities will suffer the oil curse.
- Corruption
is failing all developments at all levels and all will not be different.
The government should first solve the problem of corruption before
commencing oil production.
- We salute
parliament for making good laws. However, it should use her oversight
powers to ensure that such laws are implemented to benefit the
constituencies.
- In all
Africa’s oil producing countries, oil has turned respective Presidents
into worst dictators. It is therefore necessary that the powers of the
president be reduced by parliament.
Recommendations
- Reduce the
powers of the president regarding oil management: The new oil laws should avoid the African culture of giving a
president excessive powers over the management and utilization of
natural resources which they have continued to turned into tools of
tyranny, oppression and exploitation against their citizens including
other institutions of government such as parliament and judiciary.
Parliament should retain more powers over the executive control of oil
along the entire petroleum chain ie upstream, midstream and downstream.
- Land owners
share of oil royalties: Parliament
should ensure that the new oil laws guarantee the right of the land
owners to get 3% oil royalties as a trade off for their land and
inconvenience. This is in line with Articles 244 and 26 of the
Constitution 1995 (as amended).
- Regulations
for assessing and paying compensation: Parliament
should use its oversight powers to compel government to immediately put
in place regulations for the assessment and payment of compensation in
line with Section 20 of the Land Acquisition Act Cap 226 in order to
protect affected people from being exploited by profit minded companies
and some corrupt people in government.
- Resettlement
Action Plans (RAP): RAP should strictly be conducted in line with the
Assessment and Payment of Compensation Regulations to protect the rights
and interests of the affected people. This will avoid over reliance on the
government valuer and districts land boards which are never independent
to make reliable decisions for the affected people.
- In line with
Article 26 of the Constituion, the communities in the proposed refinery
area of Kabaale and other areas should not be stopped from using their
land until full compensation is paid to them. The new oil laws should
make it clear that a developer/government can only acquire a right over
the owner’s land after paying full and agreed compensation to the owner.
- Option to lease
land: the new oil laws should provide an
option to land owners to lease their land to oil project developers in
addition to resettlement and compensation.
- Oil
royalties: the oil laws should at least
adopt the royalty sharing under the Mining Act of 80% to central
government, 17% to districts and 3% to land owners.
- Royalty to
the Kingdom: in addition to shares to
districts and land owners, the new oil laws should give a share of 12.5%
to the Kingdom of Bunyoro as the overall owner of land in Bunyoro to enable
the King help His people. The central government should retain 67.5% of
the royalty of oil produced from the Kingdom.
- Value of
land: the new oil laws should ensure
that the compensation value includes that of discovered oil or the value
of the project to be undertaken by the developer.
- Recognize
Bunyoro Kingdom as an owner of land: the new
oil laws should recognize our kingdom as an owner of land.
- Effective
access to information: the new
oil laws should allow the communities to access relevant information on
projects that affect them without exceptions.
- Implementation
of laws: parliament should use its
oversight powers to ensure that laws and policies are implemented to
their logical conclusions. Parliament should know that putting in place
a law and fail to implement or cause implementation is a waste of time
and the main challenge facing Uganda today is poor implementation of
laws rather than lack of it. And Uganda cannot survive the oil curse
amidst poor law implementation and enforcement. The parliament should
address this through the new oil laws once and for all.
- Eliminate
corruption: the new oil laws should provide
for life imprisonment for anyone found guilty of misusing oil revenues.
Even the president should not be given immunity on issues of oil
transparency. Further, anyone suspected of corruption regarding oil
should step aside of public office until investigations are over and is
cleared of wrong doing.
- Ring fence
transboundary resources: the new
oil laws should recognize the special nature of Lake Albert, River Nile
and other transboundary resources, and their importance on regional
peace and survival of mankind. The laws should give these resources
special protection to avoid possible degradation from oil activities
that may cause cross-border wars between Uganda and her neighbors.
Remember, Lake Albert shares water with R. Nile that traverses DRC,
South Sudan, Sudan, Egypt, and Mediterranean Sea to world oceans. Pollution
to any of these resources may cause regional and world wars.
- Public
Hearings: The new oil laws should
re-enforce the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations of 1998 to
provide for mandatory public hearings for all oil and oil related
projects to stop the ongoing secretive EIA processes.
- Translation
of EIA Reports: the oil laws should provide for
mandatory translation of EIA reports into respective local languages to
enable effective participation of local communities in the conservation
of the environment using EIA mitigation measures.
- Guidelines
for oil exploitation in protected areas: the oil laws should clearly provide clear guidelines for
conducting oil activities in protected areas. This should go beyond the
current provisions in the UWA and NEMA laws where NEMA and UWA are
issuing instruments and atlases that cannot be enforced due to conflict
of laws and roles among institutions. The guidelines should be included
in the oil laws.
- Recognition
of customary/communal land: the new
oil laws should clarify that customary/communal land is as good as
titled land under the Registration of Titles Act to ease the enjoyment
of Article 137 of the Constitution.
- Oil Disputes
Tribunal: The new oil laws should provide
for oil disputes tribunal to be established at all districts in the oil
region 6 months upon the coming into force of the oil laws. These
tribunals should deal with all oil related disputes to allow affordable
justice to the affected people.
Conclusion
In
conclusion, the participants thanked the organizers for organizing the
hearings thereby providing an alternative to the conventional public hearings
on project issues that are never conducted by the government and her
agencies, and offering local communities in the oil region an opportunity to contribute
to the legislative process on oil and other related matters.
Signed,
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No:
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NAME
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CONTACT/TELEPHONE/EMAIL
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Wabyona
Juliet
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0782638467
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Mukasa
Betty
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0705313687
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Baryabanza
Agnes
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0772826710
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Katusabe
spacious
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0789996130
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Kabajaguza
Mary
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0782569147
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Chalangat
Sophie
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0772923051
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Nanyonga
Irene
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Byaruhanga
Robert
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0772964192
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Tusingwire
Benon
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0775704014
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Atusasire
Hadija
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0779152438
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Kamugisha
Dickens
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0782407085
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Kaiso
community 20/08/2012
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Balinda
Bernard
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0754764745
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Muhamud
John
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0783772528
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Uthuma-Thuwambe
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0788145888
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Isingoma
Moses
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Abdu
Combe
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0777453507
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Perusi
Kaiso
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Omirambe
Denis
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0781330511
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Aruwa
Cosmas
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07813330511
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Moses
Bingi
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0772186766
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Kamugisha
Dickens
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0782407085
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Grafani
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Lucy
Mbumbi
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0782121550
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Roy
Tweheyo
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Beatrice
Ngombe
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Lukundo
Hannington
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0787882643
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Alinganyira
Damsen
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Kamugisha
Dickens
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0782407085
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Kwesiga
Moses
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0782807786
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Tusingwire
Benon
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0775704014
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Byaruhanga
Robert
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07726464192
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Moses
Bingi
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0772186766
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Hoima
district
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Tusingwire
Benon
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0775704014
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Byaruhanga
Robert
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0772964192
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Nyangoma
Joseline
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0772628153
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Kamu
John
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0414816119
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Kyapuloni
community
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Businge
Sinizzin
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0777473611
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Ngosirwala
Sudik
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0775488889
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Selima
Kalemi
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Kobusinge
cossy
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0783793345
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Kabibi
Agnes
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0787054875
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Musa
Atube
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0750755154
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Isingoma
Jackson
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0771684274
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Achurobwe
Patrick
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0784486922
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Tayomba
Tom
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0779430792
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Businge
Abdul
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0781784280
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Kamugisha
Dickens
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0782407085
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Kwataniza
Womens Group
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Tusingwire
Benon
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07775704014
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Magambo
Fred
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0784819997
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