Project updates: Project-affected persons receive financial literacy training

Buliisa - Total E&P Uganda and Tullow Uganda Operations Pty Limited through their contractors ATACAMA CONSULTING and MasterLinks Group have offered financial literacy and capacity building training to over 1000 persons within the proposed industrial area at Kasinyi village in Ngwedo sub county in Buliisa district.

The week-long training held at Kisomere Primary School was attended by over 500 project-affected persons (PAPs) as well as 500 household members and spouses of the PAPs. The training follows the completion of the identification process for the land required for the establishment of project facilities in the proposed industrial area. The companies completed the assessment of all PAPs, disclosed the final strip maps, facilitated the establishment of a District Resettlement Committee and Resettlement Planning Committee as well as developed a Livelihood Restoration Plan (LRP).

Financial literacy training given to PAPs is part of the LRP and is aimed at building the capacity of the PAPs on how to handle and use their cash compensation to restore their livelihoods and build a sustainable future. ATACAMA CONSULTING and MasterLinks Group training module included the areas of: community mobilisation and group dynamics, personal financial management and budgeting, saving, loan management and planning for old age.

“Under financial literacy, we tackled mindset change of the PAPs, community mobilisation and group dynamics because if these people are going to be compensated, then they should mobilise themselves into small groups. Other areas tackled during the training include: personal financial management and budgeting, encouraging saving culture and loan management as well as planning for old age”, Jorams Mwebaze, the Lead Facilitator remarked.

The LC3 chairman of Ngwedo sub county and the chairman of Resettlement Planning Committee (RPC), Stephen Munange and Mulimba Mugisha respectively commended the financial literacy training provided to the PAPs on how to manage their finances and other resources and businesses without wastage.

Following the disclosure of the compensation rates for FY2017/2018 by the district in January 2018 and the financial literacy training, individual disclosures have commenced for PAPs that are land users with affected crops.

The individual disclosures involve meeting individual PAPs to disclose their entitlements in line with project entitlement matrix. The meeting with each PAP is intended to ensure confidentiality and security of the PAP’s information.

During the individual disclosure exercise, PAPs are required to attend the meetings with their spouses and the following documents should be brought along:

• National IDs (for both spouses)

• Resettlement Action Plan 1 (RAP 1) Asset Assessment and Survey forms

• Bank account details (for those who may already have active bank accounts

• Following the approval of the final valuation report and the RAP 1 report by the Government of Uganda, the project is now moving into the next stage of RAP1 implementation with the following activities scheduled to be carried out:

• Data verification and alignment

• Individual disclosure and signing off of compensation agreements

• Opening of bank accounts

• Payment of cash compensation (for PAPs who choose cash)

• Physical relocation and delivery of in-kind compensation (for PAPs who choose in-kind)

• Land acquisition

The proposed industrial area at Kasinyi village in Ngwedo sub county will be acquired for the development of access roads, camps and the Central Processing Facility under the Resettlement Action Plan 1 (RAP 1) for the TILENGA Project.