Kikuube residents petition CNOOC boss over compulsory land acquisition

Kikuube: The development of the Kingfisher Oilfields Project by the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has left hundreds of Ugandans without land following the compulsory and forceful land eviction of residents in Kikuube district.

Several meetings between the members of the project host communities and CNOOC Uganda have been futile, prompting the project-affected persons to petition the bosses of the oil company in China to intervene.

Through Strategic Response on Environmental Conservation (STREC), a local civil society organization, 268 project-affected persons have written a lengthy petition to the Chairman and Secretary of Party Leadership of CNOOC Group and Chairman of CNOOC Limited, Wang Dongjin.

They are requesting the oil company to address the challenges land owners have been facing since CNOOC started the process of compulsory acquisition of land for the Kingfisher oil project in Kikuube district.

“Despite the fact the fact that the Kingfisher oil project is being advertised as an example of international cooperation to achieve development, CNOOC operations have violated Articles 26 and 41 of the Ugandan constitution, causing human rights violations, environmental degradation, and the disruption of community livelihoods in the region,” the PAPs say in the petition.

Adding: “This is clearly in violation of Chinese policies such as Guidelines for Ecological and Environmental Protection of Foreign Investment and Cooperation Construction Projects issued in January 2022, which require companies to ‘balance economic benefits with social and environmental benefits’, follow host country law (Article 17), and international best practices (Articles 3, 4, 6, 7). These guidelines also expect CNOOC to “strengthen communication with potentially affected communities” (Article 23).”

“While we acknowledge the importance of energy and natural resource development in the area, it is imperative that CNOOC strike a balance between economic interest and the long-term wellbeing of the local inhabitants of Buhuuka and Nkondo, whose suffering is now being caused and exacerbated by the CNOOC oil operations in the region. Therefore, through this petition, we implore your urgent intervention to address the grievances faced by Kingfisher PAPs due to compulsory land acquisition processes, they note.

The key concerns raised by Buhuuka and Nkondo community members regarding the Kingfisher oil project include unfair compulsory land acquisitions, increased militarization and confiscation of local fishing equipment, forceful eviction of communities from their land, noise pollution and vibration from the oil rig, intimidation of Kingfisher Project-affected persons, and mistreatment of casual labor.

In the petition, the PAPs recommend that CNOOC respect and uphold the rights of affected communities and prohibit displacement of families without proper compensation and resettlement options.

It also recommends that CNOOC and the Ugandan government comply with Ugandan laws and best international practices in respecting the rights of local communities, that CNOOC support the fishing communities with alternative fishing areas, and that CNOOC and the government compensate PAPs for the loss of their land and livelihoods.

They also recommend that CNOOC urgently establishes and prioritizes hiring the Buhuuka community for skilled labor positions, including skill development programs, that will empower the affected communities to be gainfully employed, and that CNOOC also establishes an independent, fair grievance mechanism within the community to facilitate open communication and allow the community members to voice their concerns regarding the project and access compensation.

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