Oil compensation money splits families

Buliisa- Compensations offered by oil companies to Buliisa District residents for property destroyed during oil exploration operations have resulted into bitter misunderstandings in recipient families.

The district community development officer, Mr Godfrey Barugahara, says his office has mediated in more than 20 cases of married couples disagreeing on how compensation money should be managed.
“We have registered cases where husbands confiscate the compensation money from their wives, whose gardens were destroyed during seismic operations, ” Mr Barugahara says.

Some wives reportedly flee from their homes after receiving the money in fear of husbands confiscating the compensation money.
The Buliisa Woman MP, Ms Beatrice Mpairwe, says her office has received similar complaints.

“Some husbands claim that their wives opt to divorce or separate after receiving compensation,” she says, adding that her office is partnering with civil societies and religious leaders to resolve domestic wrangles that have increased as a result of compensation funds.

Ms Margret Katusiime, 40, a resident of Kakindo Village in Buliisa town council, who received Shs520, 000 from Tullow Oil for her crops, which were destroyed during seismic operations, says: “When I brought the money home, it is my husband who determined how the money would be spent.”

Whereas Ms Violet Kwesiga, 31, had hoped to determine how Shs1.6 million she received as compensation for her cassava and maize garden, that did not happen.

She grudgingly accepted the decisions taken by her husband in regards to how the money should be spent.

“My husband bought a goat, household items and used the money to enroll for university education,” Ms Kwesiga says.

The Buliisa District Land Board Secretary, Mr Godfrey Businge, says traditionally, communities in Buliisa give more powers to husbands, who are family heads, to dictate affairs in a home.
“It is unfortunate and unacceptable that communities do not allow married women to own property in a home. This explains why compensation money is often confiscated from wives by their respective husbands” Mr Businge says.

He adds: “Out of every 100 land applications received in this district, only two to three are filed by women.”

Oil companies operating in the district compensate owners of property destroyed during oil operations basing on the local government compensation rates. Compensation rates are proposed by the district and approved by the chief government valuer depending on prevailing market rates.

However, some residents say the money they received as compensation for their damaged property was too little while others complain about the reported delay in compensating them.
Others also say their names were omitted from the list of those expecting compensation.

The Executive Director of Global Rights Alert, an NGO building advocacy capacities of communities adjacent to oil sites, Ms Winnie Ngabiirwe, says: “Families need to unite and work together to tap the opportunities that have come with oil.”

Ms Ngabirwe’s organisation is currently offering skills and training to families and communal associations in conflict resolution, financial literacy and managing income generating projects.
She says various studies in mineral-rich countries have revealed that oil revenues can accelerate development and transform lives of the rural poor. Ms Ngabirwe, however, adds that there are a number of risks associated with oil exploitation.

“In instances where benefits have been realised, gender bias has prevailed with risks such as environmental and social harm falling heavily on women. These varying experiences of men and women in the extractive industry have hence significantly impacted their abilities to participate in and contribute to development,” Ms Ngabirwe says.

Tullow Oil, through collaboration with TRIAS, an NGO, has provided trainings to recipients of compensations on how best to utilise the money obtained.

“The objective was to encourage them to invest wisely and have savings for the future,” the Tullow Oil Communication Manager, Ms Cathy Adengo, says.

When asked to reveal the observations made by the company about the changes in communities due to compensations received, Ms Adengo says Tullow Oil is undertaking social economic studies which will enable the company to understand the current environment better.
The women in Buliisa want the government and oil companies to give the special consideration in allocation of jobs, business contracts and training.

The Minister of State for Bunyoro Affairs, Mr Ernest Kiiza, says the government is committed to address the concerns of the people in the region to enable them enjoy the full benefits that accrue from oil exploitation.

He says his ministry will liaise with the chief government valuer to address the compensation needs of the residents.
“However, they should also strategise and tap the benefits that have come with oil. The people should educate their children to pursue sciences and other petroleum-related courses, improve on their agricultural production to target supplying food and other agricultural products to oil workers,” he said.

Oil exploration in Uganda

Uganda discovered commercially viable oil deposits in the Albertine Graben in 2006 after years of survey by Ugandan geologists.
Since then oil exploration has been ongoing leading to the drilling of 89 wells, out of which 77 had oil deposits.

So far the total reserves that have been discovered are 3.5 billion barrels of oil, out of which 1.2 billion barrels or 1.7 billion barrels can be recovered depending on what technology or methods of extraction are used.

Statistics from the ministry of energy and mineral development indicated that the revenue that can be reaped from the recoverable oil amounts to 150 billion US dollars.

Currently extended oil well testing is taking place to determine how the oil will be drilled out. Some oil amounting to 36,000 barrels of crude oil has so far been got out of 16 wells during the testing.
There are three multinational oil companies operating in western Uganda and these include British oil company Tullow, France’s Total and China’s CNOOC.

BULIISA DISTRICT
Buliisa District, which was carved out of Masindi District in 2006, is within Exploration Area-2 where Tullow oil, one of the firms exploring for oil is operating.
Oil exploration activities have been undertaken in gardens, communal settlements and grazing areas. Several farms, grazing areas and property have been destroyed to create routes to the oil exploration sites. Tullow oil provides compensation for destroyed property.

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