Involuntary resettlement and livelihood challenges faced by project affected persons in Kasenyi industrial area, Ngwedo Sub County- Buliisa District, Uganda

Abstract

This study sought to investigate “Involuntary Resettlementand Livelihood Challenges of Project Affected Persons in Kasenyi Oil Industrial Area, Ngwedo Sub County, Buliisa District, Uganda”. The inspiration was to explore the provision of due compensation to restore livelihoods of displaced people to pave way for government projects. The study was guided by three objectives: Establishing procedural and feasible resettlement process in the affected areas;Explore attitudes, views and opinions of affected people about the Oil Project and Identifying livelihood challenges of affected persons in the Ngwedo Sub County. The study was carried out in Ngwedo Sub County that houses Kasenyi Oil Industrial Area/CPF, Buliisa District, which is in the Western Region of Uganda. The study utilized a descriptive study design, a total of 301 respondents participated in this study. 274 PAPs were selected utilizing Krejcie’s sample determination formula, while purposive sampling was applied to reach key expert informants and snowball sampling for PAPs. To generate the required data, the study utilized interview schedules for the selected male and female household heads, a guided questionnaire for the key informants. Quantitative data was analyzed through the use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) while qualitative data was analyzed on the basis of study objectives. The key findings of this study disclose that the government of Uganda and her partners in the project did a good job in the initial stages of community engagements and made reasonable offers, but those offers have not been duly met. The type of homes promised to the affected people aren’t the ones provided instead the small houses, compressed and devoid of a proper homely environment have been given which is far less than what they expected. Valuations of property lost that were made a decade ago have not resulted into payment/compensation to date, and some felt these delayed compensations should attract profit. People in the area were severely hit by lack of water for domestic use, drought and some families were having food shortages. There was a general feeling that community members got a raw deal. Dependent on the responses from the field, this study recommends that the government her partners should as much as possible review the design of houses to meet the basic needs of the affected people; secure resources and expedite the infrastructure needs of the resettled persons, complete the remaining compensations exercise as per the Resettlement Action Plans(RAPs), and also move quickly to finish the construction of the promised homes, schools, hospitals and also purchase and allocate the land accordingly before shifting the people. The study further recommends that there should be a functional system of documenting claims, complaints and grievances with clear feedback mechanisms and in confidentiality; establish an effective community based institutional framework for information sharing, decision making and feedback grievance and redress mechanism, this would allow affected people to use internal mechanism to resolve disagreement rather than resorting to court to seek justice. Lastly, the government of the Republic of Uganda through the concerned Ministries or agencies must include post resettlement engagement/monitoring to ascertain progress and current affairs affecting the Project Affected Persons. In cases when physical displacement is unavoidable, it is imperative that resettlement be planned and implemented in a manner that does not obstruct or harden the livelihoods of project affected persons. Considerate resettlement hence must plan to lessen risks of joblessness, homelessness and other related challenges