BRUSSELS, Belgium
The European Union parliament
has emphatically voiced its concerns about the pipeline project the Ugandan and
Tanzanian governments are devising.CEO of TotalEnergies Patrick Pouyanné (L) in a group picture with president Samia Hassan of Tanzania (C) and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda (R)
The pipeline which is designed
to run through Lake Albert has raised some humanitarian concerns, as the EU parliament
is concerned that the project would displace the residents of the area and
pollute the water resource and the land in the area.
The Ugandan government remains
adamant that the project would go on as planned, with or without its current
partners, one of the said partners being the French oil giant TotalEnergies.
However, it has been reported
that Total Energies have been summoned by the EU parliament on October 10 to
answer to charges of environmental and human rights abuse.
ALSO READ: EU not 'happy' with Uganda's oil pipeline passing through Tanzania?
The EU has summoned the CEO of
TotalEnergies Patrick Pouyanné to Brussels to justify the proposal that the
lawmakers disapproved of. Last week, the EU advised TotalEnergies to wait a
year before commissioning the project to allow time to assess the possibilities
of using other routes for the pipeline.
The oil company has however
vowed to side with the President of Uganda and noted that the project will go
on as scheduled.
TotalEnergies which convinced
the Ugandan and Tanzanian governments of the viability of the project owns a 62%
stake in the project. Uganda National Oil Corporation (UNOC) and Tanzania
Petroleum Development Corporation own a 15% stake each, and China National
Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) owns an 8% stake.
The pressure the EU is putting
on the stakeholders has driven them to begin disclosing information on the
project via media briefings or on their websites, which they initially
withheld.
The Ugandan and Tanzanian
governments have revealed the projected number of displaced people due to the
project and have even disclosed information on their replacement housing.
ALSO READ: Uganda reacts angrily to EU resolution slamming oil pipeline
According to both governments,
only 331 out of a total of 9,513 Eacop’s PAPs in Tanzania will be physically
displaced. And in Uganda, 203 out of a total of 3,648 PAPs will be physically
displaced.
The EU has however estimated
that over 100,000 people are likely to be affected, the majority of whom are
farmers. The EU is also concerned that there is no real groundwork from both
nations’ governments to compensate this many people. - Africa
No comments:
Post a Comment