The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The High Court has adjourned the hearing of the civil suit against the Petroleum Authority of Uganda and the National Environment Management Authority-NEMA to November 20th.
The matter was adjourned over the absence of Isaac Ntujju, NEMA’s Principal Environment Inspector who is principal witness in the case in which a group of civil society organisations are challenging the issuance of certificate of approval of Tilenga Project Environment and Social Impact Assessment Report in April this year.
In the suit, a group of Civil Society Organizations dragged the two authorities to the Civil Division of the High Court in May seeking judicial review of the procedures they used in conducting public hearings of the Tilenga Project Environment and Social Impact Assessment (EIA) Report. They want NEMA report approving the project cancelled for violation of environmental and human rights.
The public hearings were done in Buliisa and Nwoya district last year. In their applications, the Organizations content that NEMA and the Petroleum Authority of Uganda violated Human and Environmental Rights of communities that would be affected by the development of the Tilenga Project.
Tilenga Project is a US$ 3.5 Billion project for development of Oil infrastructure for evacuation of crude oil from oil wells located in Nwoya and Buliisa to the Central Processing Facility in Hoima district. It will involve laying Crude Oil Pipelines across environmentally sensitive Murchison Falls National Park Ecosystem through the delicate Murchison – Albert Nile Delta and Budongo Forest among others.
The project will draw several cubic meters of water from Lake Albert to assist in the transportation network as well as displace communities along its pathway. Environmentalists fear that the Project will trigger environmental decay as it disrupts livelihoods of communities around it.
Dickens Kamugisha the Chief Executive Officer of Africa Institute for Energy Governance (AFIEGO), one of the Non-Governmental Organizations behind the suit says they want Court to quash NEMA’s approval of the Project in order to compel Total Exploration and Production, the company which conducted the public hearings to follow the legal procedures in conducting public hearings on the Project’s Environment and Social Impact Assessment Report.
The applicants are also contesting the participation of current senior Presidential Advisor on Oil, Gas and Minerals, Kabagambe Kaliisa, the former Permanent Secretary Ministry of Energy and Minerals as the Presiding Officer of the Public hearings citing conflict of interests. Kamugisha says it was wrong for NEMA and the Petroleum Authority to allow Kagabambe Kaliisa chair the public hearing sessions.
NEMA approved the Tilenga EIA Report in April this year issuing a certificate of approval for the Project paving way for its implementation. Sarah Naigaga, NEMA’s Senior Legal Counsel is representing NEMA in the case while Petroleum Authority of Uganda is being represented Kosia Kasibayo, a state attorney. They did not object to the summon.
Isaac Ntujju, the Principal Environment Inspector at the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) filed a written affidavit disputing the allegations in the suit as NEMA’s Principal witness.
On Tuesday, Justice Henrietta Wolayo, the Deputy Head of Civil Division of the High Court issued a summon for Isaac Ntujju to appear for cross-examination on November 20th after he failed to show up in court.
Justice Wolayo then adjourned the start of hearing of the matter over the absence of Ntujju saying he is key witness in the case. The hearing lasted about 30 minutes as lawyers discussed the application seeking Ntujju’s summon.
Allan Bariyo, a lawyer with Allan and Festo Advocates who is representing AFIEGO and the Guild Presidents’ Forum on Governance, a coalition of youth groups in the suit says when the NEMA Report approving the Project is cancelled, Total E&P, the Developer of the Oil Infrastructure will have another chance to conduct proper public hearings which are more considerate of the rights of affected communities and the Environment.
Under the Tilenga Project, Total E&P proposed to avoid environmentally sensitive areas such as Wildlife wallows, Antelope mating bars and the Murchison Falls Albert Delta.
The Tilenga Project EIA report states that where a physical environmental feature cannot be avoided, the impact of Oil activities on it will be significantly minimized or restored in the event that avoidance or impact minimization is proved untenable.
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