“During land compensations for
establishment of oil projects, women
were always invited to sign on the
compensation agreements as witnesses
on family land while men signed as
owners. Men were opening bank accounts
in their names without putting women.
This resulted into men misusing money
from land compensations with some of it
being used to marry other wives” Sarah
Nabiryo, KAWDA, Buliisa.
“At the time oil investors came, men were
opening accounts for compensation alone
in their names. But women have also been
sensitized to understand rights and are
cooperating with their spouses in opening
joint account to receive compensation on
their land.”
While construction of infrastructure
projects promised opportunities to the
communities, these promises were not
met and jobs were given to people from
outside the local communities.
“The oil related projects including the
roads were supposed to rely on local labor
and therefore provide employment to the
community. However, jobs are allocated
from Kampala and given to foreigners.
Our children have not benefited.”
During the field study, women indicated
that the upgrading of road networks
in the region brought some benefits.
The two roads i.e. Hoima – Buliisa and
Hoima Kaiso-tonya greatly improved
transport and communication for people
in the region. Women in Buliisa and
Kaiso reported that the construction of
these roads has eased their movements
to Hoima town and has improved their
business operations.
Oil extraction and infrastructure
construction has had negative impacts
on the environment. The oil refinery
on the shores of Lake Albert excretes
waste directly into the lake which has
threatened the ecosystem especially the
growth of fish species in the lake.
Figure 3:
Part of
HoimaKaiso road
- One of the
infrastructure
projects of oil
extraction
21
Research on the Influence of International Financial Institutions
on Uganda’s COVID – 19 Recovery Agenda