Metro

Uganda files lawsuit to remove property owners obstructing a regional pipeline

Published

3 months ago

September 14, 2024

Due to low-value payments, absentee landlords, and a complicated land ownership system in some areas of the country, Uganda’s government has begun a legal battle with 112 landowners who the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (Eacop) is set to displace.

As a result, a Ugandan court will on Monday hear a case in which the government has sued eighty individuals, attempting to force them off their land in three districts within the Greater Masaka region along the Eacop route. The developers of these districts are rushing to meet the deadlines for the nation to begin exporting oil that year.

Two related instances involving landowners from the Hoima and Kyankwanzi districts this week were also heard. These districts are a part of the 296 km Eacop length in Uganda, where at least 32 absentee landowners and others who rejected low-value compensation pose a serious delay.

The 112 cases “under consideration for compulsory land acquisition due to issues such as untraceable individuals, landowner disputes, refusal of compensation offers, and lack of legal title,” according to Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa, were recognised last month in a media conference in Kampala.

With early civil works nearly finished, Eacop officials told journalists that the project is approaching a vital stage to begin laying the pipeline.

In addition to the six pump stations and the twelve main camp people yards (MCPYs) that are now under construction, the coating facility in Tanzania was put into service in March and 700 km of line pipe have already been sent there.

“Early civil works are ongoing in both Uganda and Tanzania,” Ms Nankabirwa said.

“In Uganda, work has been completed at three of the five MCPYs located in Hoima, Kakumiro, and Sembabule districts, while work continues at the MCPYs in Mubende and Kyotera districts.”

However, on the Ugandan side of the corridor—the shorter one—the pace of clearing the 1,443 km Eacop route has been slower and fraught with disputes; just 96% of project-affected individuals (PAPs) in Uganda have received compensation, compared to 99% in Tanzania.

In Uganda, the pipeline corridor includes 2,740 acres over 296km and has 3,660 PAPs. In Tanzania, the pipeline corridor covers 10,081 acres over 1,147km and has 9904 eligible persons for compensation.

Some of the impacted parties, who were sued for not having legal standing or a representative to handle their families’ compensation, have attributed their problems to NewPlan, the company that was contracted to carry out the Eacop resettlement action plan, as the hearing for these lawsuits aimed at evicting the landowners gets underway.

For example, Sarah Namatovu claims that after the rightful landowner passed away, her family was sued for not having a legal representative or letters of administration to the estate. The resettlement action plan contractor pledged to pursue the processing of a death certificate to comply with this requirement.

“NewPlan came to our home in 2018 and informed us that the death certificate we have was not fit for purpose. This is because the certificate was not issued by the National Identification and Registration Authority,” she explained.

“NewPlan promised to support us to acquire the right death certificate so that we could process letters of administration and get compensation, but they never did. The next thing we heard is that we had been sued because we rejected compensation, yet we did not.”

As the hearing for these lawsuits aimed at evicting the landowners begins, some of the affected parties—who were sued for lacking legal standing or a representative to handle their families’ compensation—have attributed their problems to NewPlan, the company hired to carry out the Eacop resettlement action plan.

For instance, Sarah Namatovu asserts that her family was sued for failing to have letters of administration to the estate or a legal agent following the death of the legitimate landowner. To meet this criterion, the resettlement action plan contractor promised to seek the processing of a death certificate.

When NewPlan visited our house in 2018, they told us that the death certificate we had was not valid. She said, “This is because the National Identity and Registration Authority did not issue the certificate.

“The affected estates are those under the Succession Register in Buganda Kingdom. Matters relating to those estates are supposed to be administered by the kingdom,” he said, adding that because of that directive, it has been difficult for some people in Buganda to obtain certificates of no objection from the office of the Administrator-General to process letters of administration.

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Metro

Death toll from Cyclone Chido in Mozambique hits 94

Published

20 hours ago

December 24, 2024

Isaac Dachen

he death toll from the Cyclone Chido which stuck Mozambique last week has risen to 94 with hundreds still missing.

According to the country’s National Institute of Risk and Disaster Management (INGD), the
powerful storm which made a landfall last week, also injured 768 people and affected over 622,000, leaving a trail of destruction across northern provinces.

The Cyclone hit Mozambique on December 15 with winds reaching 260 km/h (160 mph) and 250 mm of rainfall within the first 24 hours, first striking the Cabo Delgado province before moving inland to Niassa and Nampula, regions frequently battered by cyclones.

A report from the INGD said the Indian Ocean archipelago, Mayotte, bore the brunt of the storm.

Officials in Mayotte, which is one of France’s poorest overseas territories, said they have only been able to confirm 35 fatalities from Chido, but some have said they fear thousands could have been killed.

“The cyclone severely impacted Mozambique’s already fragile education and health sectors,” a report by the United Nations said on Monday.

“Over 109,000 students were affected as schools sustained significant damage, while 52 healthcare units were left inoperable, cutting off access to essential medical services in areas already underserved.

“The same Cyclone Chido had first wreaked havoc in the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, before moving on to Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe.

“While Mayotte experienced its worst storm in 90 years, Mozambique continues to face a compounding crisis driven by climate change,” the report added.

Metro

Nigeria on the right path despite hardship, criticism— President Tinubu

Published

21 hours ago

December 24, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has insisted that the country is moving in the right direction despite the criticism of his economic policies by political opponents and the hardship being experienced by citizens.

Tinubu, who made the assertion during his maiden presidential media chat on Monday in Lagos, reiterated that though his reforms and policies may not be popular at the moment, they were all aimed at placing the country on the path to economic recovery.

The President, who also spoke on the 2025 national budget proposal of N49.7 trillion, christened ‘restoration of hope’, also called for understanding and cooperation from Nigerians amid the prevailing economic realities.

“Nigeria is moving forward regardless of critics. This is a budget of restoration of hope, and Nigeria is on the path of recovery. We can’t finish the job in one calendar year,” Tinubu declared.

The Nigerian leader who also gave reasons for removing subsides on fuel as well as the controversial tax reforms he initiated, said he has no regret whatsoever in removing the fuel subsidy.

Tinubu stated that removing petrol subsidy was in a bid to save generations to come, noting that the country was already spending its future while giving freebies to neighbouring countries.

He also insisted that there is no going back on the tax reforms bills despite dissenting voices from different sections of the country.

Tinubu noted that the tax reforms were necessitated by the need to eliminate colonial-based assumptions in the nation’s tax environment.

The President stressed that the tax reform he has proposed was pro-poor and aimed at widening the tax net, noting that it was typical for tax reforms to be accompanied by outcries.

“Tax reform is here to say. We cannot just continue to do what we were doing yesteryears in today’s economy.

“We cannot retool this economy with the old broken tools. The essence of the tax reform is to eliminate colonial-based assumptions in our tax environment. Every tax situation without outcry is not a tax.

“You cannot satisfy uniformly the larger community of tax evaders. This tax reform is pro-poor; the vulnerable are not to pay taxes. All we are asking for is to widen the tax net and bake the cake larger so that we can share a larger meal.

“They will still ask for this consultation no matter how long I delay it. The hallmark of a good leader is the ability to do what you have to do at the time it has to be done. That is my philosophy,” President Tinubu said.