- On Sunday, 8th December, East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP)-impacted communities gathered in Kikuube district in Uganda to hold a press conference and peaceful demonstration in response to the recent claim by the Government of Uganda indicating that financing for the destructive East African Crude Oil Pipeline would come through from numerous Chinese state-owned entities by the end of December 2024.
Since September 2023, the Government of Uganda has repeatedly stated that Chinese financial institutions, including Sinosure and China Exim Bank, are expected to finance the project. However, the anticipated support from China appears to have been delayed, prompting EACOP shareholders to increase their equity stake from 40% to 52%. However, the silence from the Chinese stakeholders regarding the claims by the Government of Uganda has raised serious concerns among the affected communities and civil society in Uganda and Tanzania. These concerns are further compounded by the significant role already played by the Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and various Chinese contractors in the operation and development of EACOP and its associated projects.
East African Crude Oil Pipeline map. Image credit: EACOP
During the press conference, community leaders and impacted persons put forward clear demands for the Chinese financial and insurance actors, including Sinosure, China Exim Bank and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to decline any and all support for EACOP, emphasising the immense environmental and socio-economic harm caused by the pipeline and its associated projects. Impacted communities have also put out clear calls for Chinese commercial and political decision-makers to prioritise mutually beneficial developmental partnerships with their communities, with their country and with the continent as a whole- stressing the potential role that the Chinese state and its entities could play in spurring meaningful growth through the provision of support for decentralised renewable energy infrastructure and other green economic and social development initiatives.
Yesterday, 12th December 2024, activists in Kampala and Dar Es Salaam marched to the embassies of China in Uganda and Tanzania respectively to ensure that the demands, testimony and aspirations of EACOP-impacted communities are heard and treated seriously by Chinese stakeholders who continue to consider throwing their weight behind the disastrous EACOP and its associated projects.
The campaign calls on Chinese financial institutions to respect the decision of affected people and to publicly commit to not funding this harmful project or the associated oil fields.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
