Originally South Africa #5 >>13438641
“Ugandans criticize oil pipeline deal with Tanzania and Total” - https://www.dw.com/en/ugandans-criticize-oil-pipeline-deal-with-tanzania-and-total/a-57186579. [Signed soon after the death of Tanzania’s President. Coincidence? Total is dealing with another corrupt African government.] Below are excerpts.
Ugandans are making disparaging comments on social media about the multibillion-dollar oil pipeline deal that the country has signed with Tanzania and Total. The secrecy surrounding it has raised fears of corruption.
Uganda, Tanzania and the French oil company Total, along with its investment partner in Uganda, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), signed a series of agreements on Sunday to build a heated pipeline that will carry crude oil from western Uganda to the Indian Ocean coast.
The deal, worth $3.5 billion (€2.9 billion), and the secrecy surrounding the details have raised public fears of corruption.
Uganda's crude oil is highly viscous, which means that it needs to be heated to remain liquid enough to flow. The East African Crude Oil Project Pipeline (EACOPP) could be the longest electrically heated crude oil pipeline in the world, at 1,400 kilometers (850 miles). Construction is expected to begin this year.
Tanzania's new leader, President Samia Suluhu Hassan, was in Uganda to witness the signing of the documents — perhaps her most important executive action since her inauguration in March.
The event was "an auspicious occasion" that would unlock the development of the region's oil resources, she said. The shareholder agreements cover the construction of the pipeline, which is designed to connect oil fields near Lake Albert to the Tanzanian port of Tanga.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni hailed the deal as a major milestone and a victory for the countries.
Watchdog groups and others also have warned against the personalization of Uganda's oil resources and heavy borrowing by national budget authorities anticipating oil revenue.
Civil society groups led by the African Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO) have been urging the governments of Uganda and Tanzania and the oil companies to call off their plans.
The AFIEGO noted that some of the people affected by the pipeline have not been compensated and that the oil developments are also taking place in an ecologically sensitive conservation area.
In an interveiw with DW, Diana Nabiruma, the communications head for AFIEGO, said: "Previously Uganda has signed secret agreements, and Ugandans have lost. For instance, the president told us that electricity in Uganda is expensive because government officials conspired to sign agreements that favor bidding companies. Now we are seeing this being repeated in the oil sector."
They continue to question the fact that the oil deals are still secret despite Uganda being a member of the Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative, Nabiruma added.
President Museveni, who has led Uganda since 1986, has sometimes suggested that the discovery of commercially viable oil quantities in 2006 created an opportunity for him to remain in power. "They are targeting my oil," he said of his challengers in the country's 2016 presidential election.
His personalization of the oil fields quickly dashed hopes in Uganda that the country could become an oil Eldorado. After that, the scramble to evict residents began and was often perpetrated by Museveni's cronies and members of his inner circle.