The buzzing sound of high voltage power lines evacuating power from Karuma dam in Kiryandongo district is symbolic: to Ugandans afar, it’s a promise of affordable electricity when finally commissioned.
To the local people living underneath in Awoo Village in Karuma, it’s a daily reminder of crushed promises for good life supposed to be brought by the project.
Auma Bullentina is one of those who have been waiting for ten years to be relocated to Lapono in Nwoya district. She painfully narrates how her colleagues have died before promised relocation could happen.
“We’re poor. We’re now hitting stones to survive,” she says. “Some of our colleagues have died before relocation. There are 14 people on relocation list that have died”.
The delays in resettling project affected persons (PAPs) have been flagged as a weakness by the auditor general. In the 2019/20 value for money report, the AG reports that “Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development (MEMD) had not built resettlement houses for the 119 vulnerable PAPs displaced by Karuma dam six years after construction works were launched.”
Yet people had been pushed off their land and properties demolished to pave way for the project to progress.
Little wonder then that questions about plight of PAPs in Karuma rises anger in the community. At a community meeting in Karuma trading centre, the Economic Policy Research Centre team watched in disbelief as emotions ran high as they discussed their plight.
“The whole relocation process has been scam,” shouted one elder. He added: “Government must set up a commission of inquiry to look into this project. You don’t expected people to sit or live on other people’s verandahs waiting relocation.”
Karuma dam seen from the far side of River Nile. Photo/EPRC
The EPRC was in the community gathering views for a study on causes of conflicts in green projects – specifically looking into Karuma and Isimba dams. Both dams add to Uganda’s power generation and are expected to lower power tariffs. The corroborative project in conjunction with the Peace Research Institute (PRIO) Oslo and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs will publish a report on the security implications of renewable energy sector development with specific focus on Karuma and Isimba dams.
The study adds to voice of the many that are urging government to streamline processes when dealing with PAPs in green power projects.
A report by the Dutch charity Both Ends earlier noted that some of the projects in Uganda don’t start in good terms and “in the case of Karuma dam, the intimidation of and attacks against people affected by the project is what most catches the eye.”
The charity added: “One wonders why the Ugandan government did not learn from the earlier experiences in handling displacement at Bujagali. Karuma is still under construction. However, given the way people were forcibly displaced prior to the project’s start, there seems little reason to expect that any persisting livelihood problems of displaced communities after project completion will be addressed effectively, if at all.”
Dr. Linda Nakato, the EPRC principal project investigator, noted interacting with PAPs, you notice in some communities, the grievances are fewer like in Oyam district where their only complaint was on destruction of cultural sites like areas where they prayed rain. For some, however, the complaints are major – from non-compensation of land to failure of physical relocation. She said government has to take these complaints serious.
An elder in Awoo village in Karuma. He has been waiting to be relocated to new place for the last ten years. Photo: EPRC
Genesis Okello, the general secretary of Karuma Hydropower Project Local Community Organisation (KAHLCO), a community advocacy helping advocate for local people’s interests, said at the start of the project, the community’s expectations were raised high, people were happy but ten years later, everyone is demoralized and promises have not been met.
“When you look at the issue of compensation – both physical relocation and cash payments – all have been riddled with problems. Those who opted for physical relocation have not been relocated while those who opted for cash were undervalued,” Okello said.