the visit was scheduled even b4 the death of Magufuli. kwa hiyo ataenda yeyeHow Magufuli charmed Uganda
FRIDAY MARCH 19 2021
Tanzanian President John Magufuli (R) and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni endorsed the construction of the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP. PHOTO/FILE
Summary
- Six years ago, there existed a loose grouping christened the ‘coalition of the willing’, established in 2013 and comprising Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda and to some extent South Sudan.
By Frederic Musisi
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At the onset of John Pompe Magufuli’s Tanzania presidency in 2015, the East African Community (EAC), which then comprised Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda, was not in the best of political health.
Six years ago, there existed a loose grouping christened the ‘coalition of the willing’, established in 2013 and comprising Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda and to some extent South Sudan.
It was birthed through the Northern Corridor Integration Projects (NCIP) scheme under which the states committed to work together on joint infrastructure projects. Among the flagship projects was the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).
Tanzania, alongside Ethiopia, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), were eventually invited to the NCIP table as observers.
During the first years of his presidency, Magufuli appeared less enthusiastic and engaged about NCIP that in many ways mirrored the EAC itself.
Then boom! Total E&P started fast-tracking plans to construct an oil pipeline to evacuate Uganda’s waxy crude oil to the international market, either through Mombasa and Lamu, both in Kenya, or the southern route to Tanzania.
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Kenya has been, and remains, Uganda’s main gateway to the sea; so the it appeared destined as the country over whose land Uganda’s oil pipeline connecting to the coast would run.
However, a study by Gulf Interstate Engineering detailed that the southern route — from Hoima via Mutukula to Tanga — was more viable and less challenging a terrain to get oil from Uganda to the international market.
Total E&P endorsed the study as did Ugandan technocrats. It marked Uganda’s abrupt turn away from the allure of Kenya, much to the chagrin of leaders there.
The Tanzania route deal was closed in 2016, sealed in 2017 and stamped in 2020. A meeting scheduled for next Monday to sign the Stakeholders, Tariff and Transportation agreements now hangs in balance following Magufuli’s sudden death since Tanzanian Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan was expected to join Total executives and President Museveni in Kampala.
While appearing before the parliamentary committee on national economy, Uganda’s Energy minister Goretti Kitutu said the Monday meeting is still on schedule, but it remains unclear if Tanzanian delegation will attend, considering that the country has declared two weeks of mourning.
Love for pipeline project
Magufuli personally threw weight behind the 1,443km crude oil pipeline project and ensured related decisions were fast-tracked, and the Tanzanian technocrats always blamed the delays on their Ugandan counterparts.
In late 2019 as President Museveni haggled with the oil companies over tax issues that slowed progress of the pipeline, Magufuli, during the Uganda-Tanzania business forum, told his counterpart to sacrifice some short-term tax benefits with the hope of getting long-term benefits from the oil pipeline.
“Sacrifice some of the short-term gains for the long-term and your Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) officials should not delay you, actually we wanted this pipeline to be named Kaguta Pipeline when it opens,” Magufuli said then.
During his roughly six years’ presidency, Magufuli visited Uganda thrice; for President Museveni’s swearing in in May 2016, laying of the oil pipeline’s foundation stone in in Rakai in November 2017, and for the 19th EAC Ordinary summit. He travelled by road.
Upon Uganda choosing Tanzania for the oil pipeline route, the NCIP gradually lost steam, particularly after relations between Uganda and Rwanda and their leaders Museveni and Paul Kagame turned frosty. The last NCIP heads of state meeting took place in Nairobi in 2018.
In 2016, Magufuli elected to have his country build its own SGR linking to Lake Victoria port of Mwanza. With the NCIP in comatose, Rwanda expressed willingness to link their proposed SGR via Tanzania rather than Kampala, which discussions are ongoing.
Later in March 2017, Mr Museveni, during a visit to Tanzania, learnt that Uganda’s proposed SGR appeared much more expensive than that of Tanzania. Every kilometre of rail, Mr Museveni was reportedly told, was costing Tanzania $1.5m (Shs5.6b) while Uganda’s was set to cost $7.3m (Shs25b) per kilometre.
Mr Museveni’s interest in the Tanzania route was whetted by Tanzania’s proposal to prioritise the 1,219km SGR line from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza port to revive inland water transport on Lake Victoria.
Upon return, Mr Museveni directed the then Works minister Monica Azuba Ntege to undertake independent studies on the costs of Uganda’s SGR. The back-to-back studies by a team led by Prof Edward Rugumayo and another by Eng Badru Kiggundu, contradicted each other and kicked up a storm at Uganda’s SGR office.
musisif@ug.nationmedia.com
Our Iron lady will be in Uganda for EACOP signing!
Our Iron lady will be in Uganda for EACOP signing!
- Thread starter Geza Ulole
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Geza Ulole
JF-Expert Member
- Oct 31, 2009
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Huwa sikujibu!
Mimi nataka kufahamu kwanini uzi wako umeuweka kwenye jukwaa la kenya na si tz au ug?
Then it is not FID, its SHA- Shareholders Agreement and TTA-Tarrif Transportation Agreement
kwanini?
Geza Ulole
JF-Expert Member
- Oct 31, 2009
- 65,136
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Uganda postpones pipeline deal signing over Magufuli's death
THURSDAY MARCH 25 2021
Tanzanian President John Magufuli and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni stand in front the project board for the construction of the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in Mutukula, Uganda, on November 9, 2017. PHOTO | AFP
Summary
- Before his death on March 17, President Magufuli had been scheduled to travel to Kampala for the tripartite signing of the pipeline deal, between the governments of Uganda and Tanzania, and the lead investor Total.
By The East African
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Uganda on Wednesday announced that the signing of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline deal and launch of other projects has been deferred to next month, following the death of Tanzanian president John Pombe Magufuli.
Before his death on March 17, President Magufuli had been scheduled to travel to Kampala for the tripartite signing of the pipeline deal, between the governments of Uganda and Tanzania, and the lead investor Total. The signing was to take place on March 22 in Kampala.
“The launch of the Tilenga Development Project and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project, which was planned to take place on 22nd March, 2021, has been deferred to April 2021,” said the Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU), in a statement dated March 24, 2021.
The signing of the deal is critical to investors taking the final investment decision for the projects, which will lead to Uganda producing its first oil in 2024.
The statement of the PAU, which regulates the oil activities in Uganda, clarifies the uncertainty that emerged after the postponement of the Eacop signing, as government officials could not give the exact date when the deal for the $3.5 billion pipeline project would be signed.
Initially, Don Wanyama, the presidential press secretary, told The EastAfrican on March 23, that no new date has been set “until after mourning and burial”.
The PAU hailed President Magufuli’s leadership, which set a strong foundation for the Eacop project, with key milestones that included the signing of the Inter-Governmental Agreement in 2017, and the initialling of the Tanzania Host Government Agreement in 2020.
Along with the export pipeline, Uganda is expected to launch the Tilenga Development Project, which is operated by Total in the country’s Lake Albert region. An estimated 6.5 billion barrels of oil were discovered in the area, out of which up to 1.7 billion barrels are recoverable.
Uganda postpones pipeline deal signing over Magufuli's death
Uganda on Wednesday announced that the signing of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline deal and launch of other projects has been deferred to next month, following the death of Tanzanian president...
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