By Leonard Kamugisha Akida
HOIMA
Energy and Mineral Development Minister Dr Monica Musenero has blamed foreign powers for the growing protests against the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), accusing them of using Ugandan youth to oppose the country’s development.
Musenero said some foreign actors were funding the mobilisation of young Ugandans against the oil project, arguing that countries that industrialised through fossil fuels were now campaigning against Uganda’s exploitation of its petroleum resources.
She made the remarks on Wednesday during a ceremony to name Uganda’s crude oil at the Kingfisher Development Area in Kikuube District.
“They are using our own children against our development. We are going to have intensified communication, and I would like to see the support of Ugandans, especially the younger people,” Musenero said.
Her remarks came days after 10 youth climate activists were arrested during a protest against EACOP in Kampala and remanded to Luzira Prison.
The accused appeared before Buganda Road Grade One Magistrate Rophine Acayo and denied charges of causing a nuisance on a public road under the Roads Act.
They were arrested on August 31 after allegedly assembling on King George Way and obstructing traffic while carrying placards opposing oil development.
The court remanded them to Luzira until September 18 after they failed to secure sureties.
Musenero defended Uganda’s decision to develop its oil resources, saying the country must use petroleum revenues to support economic transformation while investing in cleaner energy.
She said Uganda contributes minimally to global emissions and was working towards producing a “carbon-neutral barrel”.
“Getting the oil out of the ground is only the beginning. Once the oil is out, that is where it builds the industries and creates the jobs we need,” she said.
EACOP is currently 92% complete as Uganda prepares for first oil.
EACOP Deputy Managing Director John Bosco Habugisha said the project had entered a critical commissioning and testing phase.
He said Pump Station One marks kilometre zero of the 1,443km heated pipeline, which will transport crude from the Kingfisher and Tilenga oil fields through Uganda and Tanzania to the Chongoleani Marine Storage Terminal near the Port of Tanga for export.
