Communities undergoing rapid development in their midst have called for strengthening of grievance mechanisms set up by Joint Venture Partners (JVPs) and its sub-contractors.
During recent engagements with affected communities, it was noted that the existence of such committees is known but reliance levels on them by the Persons Affected by Project (PAPs) are low.
One of the PAPs in Kikuube district noted that committees constitute members that lack grievance management skills which render them incompetent to handle complex issues arising from the project activities.
Other PAPs further said that the best alternative would be utilizing CLOs but majority don’t stay in affected localities and are rarely accessed.
Brian Nahamya-Program Associate at Global Rights Alert, stipulate that such mechanisms are relevant since aggrieved or conflicting parties can easily access them.
However, government through its authorities such as Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA), Joint Venture Partners (JVPs) and sub-contractors should invest in capacity enhancement of committee members to make them competent and experts in dispute resolution.
Brian added that, “They should be empowered and trained to equip them with conflict and grievance, mediation and negotiation skills to enable them handle complex issues due to oil projects.
Additionally, Environmental Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) report evidence that during construction phase of the East African Crude Oil Pipe Line (EACOP) project, local community offices will be established at locations along the route to provide stakeholders direct access to community relation coordinators, community liaison officers and grievance officers.
