Total empowers Ugandans in the Albertine Region to participate in the oil & gas sector

Buliisa - Total E&P Uganda and Tullow Uganda on behalf of the government of Uganda have successfully facilitated the elections of 37 members of the Resettlement Planning Committee (RPC) among project-affected persons (PAPs). The roles of the committee will among others include: representing the interests of the PAPs and obtaining their input on the project as well as providing regular feedback to the PAPs on the progress of the first Resettlement Action Plan (RAP1) for the TILENGA project. The RAP1 RPC will also assist in the mediation and reconciliation of grievances that cannot be resolved at the second level of the grievance mechanism and assist in the legal due diligence of the land register.

The election for the RAP1 Resettlement Planning Committee (RPC) took place on 4 August 2017 at Kasenyi village in Ngwedo sub-county under close monitoring and supervision of members of Buliisa District Resettlement Committee (DIRCO). The exercise was conducted through secret ballot system and votes tallied by the DIRCO members. The elected representatives were declared by the DIRCO Vice Chairperson Bernard Barugahara and his Secretary Bernard Tugume. 

The RAP1 RPC is composed of five (5) fixed representatives from the government of Uganda, the local leadership of Kasenyi village and Ngwedo sub-county, and the project developer, as well as five (5) co-opted representatives from the local leadership of neighbouring villages and twenty-seven (27) representatives elected by project-affected persons (PAPs) including: 

-    nine (9) PAPs from Kasenyi village, 
-    six (6) PAPs from surrounding villages, 
-    two (2) PAPs from the youth cluster, 
-    two (2) PAPs from the elders’ cluster  
-    two (2) PAPs from the female headed household cluster, 
-    two (2) PAPs from the persons with disability cluster, 
-    four (4) representatives elected from the local opinion leaders. 

The elected RPC members thereafter met and elected their board representatives who are:

Chairperson: Mulumba Mugisha Jealous 
Vice chairperson: Wandera Kenedy 
Secretary: Mugayo Richard

The election exercise follows the conclusion of the RAP1 strip map disclosure exercise in which the PAPs confirmed the location and accuracy of information related to their land before submission of the Priority RAP documentation to the government for approval by the end of August 2017. 

Following completion of the exploration phase, the oil companies are moving into the development phase to prepare for the production of oil which necessitates the permanent occupation of around three hundred and ten hectares (310 Ha) of land for the establishment of an industrial area and associated access road located in Kasenyi Village, Ngwedo Sub-county, Buliisa District.