As 2024 draws to a close, Uganda will celebrate a major milestone in its journey towards becoming an oil and gas producer: the completion of land acquisition for key infrastructure projects.
These include the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), Tilenga, and Kingfisher projects, pivotal to unlocking the nation's crude oil. The process, while extensive and complex, has sought to balance the projects' progress with the rights and livelihoods of the Project-Affected Persons (PAPs).
Across the three projects, land acquisition affected 10,065 PAPs and 8,977 households. Compensation rates highlight a robust performance, with 100 per cent of affected persons compensated in Kingfisher, 99.9 per cent in Tilenga, and 99 per cent in EACOP. The process has adhered to Ugandan and international standards, placing community well-being at the core of oil and gas development.
This milestone is more than a step toward first oil; it tested the sector's dedication to responsible energy development and a promise of shared prosperity for its citizens. The EACOP project--a 1,443-kilometer heat-traced pipeline--will transport crude oil from Hoima, Uganda, to the port of Tanga, Tanzania.
As a cross-border project, it has encountered one of the most complex land acquisition processes globally. This complexity arises from the differing land ownership systems in the two countries: in Uganda, land is privately owned, while in Tanzania, it is state-owned.
Although the Ugandan segment of the pipeline is shorter, its land acquisition process has taken longer. This is due to Uganda's long-standing unresolved "land question," an issue rooted in the 1900 Buganda Agreement and carried forward into the 1995 Constitution.
The challenge is compounded by Uganda's intricate land tenure systems, which include Mailo, Freehold, Bonafide, and Customary interests-- sometimes overlapping on the same piece of land. These systems are further complicated by conflicting inheritance and marriage customs, creating substantial hurdles in land acquisition.
The Ugandan segment covers approximately 2,740 acres, crossing 10 districts. It traverses 25 sub-counties and impacts 171 villages, affecting both residential and agricultural land. In total, 3,762 Project-Affected Persons (PAPs) have been identified, with 177 qualifying for resettlement houses, all of which have been completed and handed over.
The Tanzanian segment of the pipeline spans 9,695 acres across eight regions. It traverses 27 districts and impacts 231 villages, representing the majority of the pipeline's footprint. Compensation efforts in Tanzania have progressed rapidly, with 9,828 out of 9,927 PAPs fully compensated by July 2023.
Additionally, 340 resettlement houses have been completed and handed over, underscoring the efficiency of land acquisition efforts under Tanzania's state-led land ownership system. EACOP's Livelihood Restoration Programs (LRPs) have played a pivotal role in ensuring sustainable outcomes for displaced families in both Uganda and Tanzania.
These programs are designed to restore and enhance livelihoods affected by the pipeline project, focusing on tailored interventions that address local needs and opportunities. In Uganda, the LRPs, launched in October 2022, targeted 3,400 PAPs with initiatives to improve agricultural practices, livestock management, and market linkages for long-term economic stability.
Training focused on agronomic techniques, value addition, and sustainable resource use, with 84 per cent of eligible PAPs (226 out of 268) completing vocational training to gain practical income-generating skills. Additionally, 757 beneficiaries from the pipeline corridor were trained in trades like carpentry, tailoring, and mechanics to diversify income sources.
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In Tanzania, LRPs emphasised agricultural productivity through modern farming inputs, climate-resilient techniques, and irrigation systems, alongside support for livestock farmers via veterinary services and improved breeds.
Women's economic empowerment was prioritised through tailored programs supporting women-led agribusinesses and access to microfinance opportunities, fostering community resilience across both countries.
In both countries, these programs are complemented by a strong focus on market access and value addition, enabling PAPs to sell their produce at competitive prices and integrate into broader supply chains.
The successful land acquisition program is testimony of the resilience of the strong institutional foundation to absorb internal shocks but most importantly resist external opportunistic counter-revolutionary actors!
The writer is the director, Legal and Corporate Affairs at the PAU.
