The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) has seen Western banks pull out of financing the project over environmental concerns. Photo: Handout
China steps in to save Uganda oil pipeline as Western lenders back out over environmental concerns
A new pipeline is planned to transport crude oil from Uganda’s Lake Albert oilfields to Tanzania’s Indian Ocean coast
Several major Western banks have pulled out of investing in the project due to pressure from environmental groups
Chinese lenders will provide more than half of the US$3 billion debt that Uganda requires to build a crude oil pipeline after financiers from the West backed out following strong opposition from environmental groups.
According to Uganda’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, the East African nation expects to finalise talks with the China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure) and the Export-Import Bank of China (Eximbank) by next month to finance the construction of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).
Irene Bateebe, the ministry’s permanent secretary, said Sinosure, the Chinese state-owned provider of export credit insurance, is working with Eximbank to provide funding for the pipeline, which “is the largest portion – above 50 per cent of the debt”.
“We are at the tail-end of the discussions [with Chinese lenders] for financial close. We are confident that by the end of October of this year, we will close the debt component and we would have mobilised most of the funding for the project,” Bateebe said on Friday.
Uganda needs about US$5 billion for the pipeline running from Lake Albert’s oilfields to a storage and loading terminal in the Tanzanian port of Tanga. Financing is set at a 60:40 debt-to-equity ratio, meaning US$3 billion will be secured as debt with the remaining US$2 billion to be financed by shareholders through equity contributions.
TotalEnergies controls a 62 per cent interest in the pipeline; the Uganda National Oil Company holds 15 per cent; Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation has 15 per cent; leaving 8 per cent for Chinese oil giant China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).
The 1,443km (896-mile) pipeline would transport crude oil from Uganda’s Lake Albert oilfields in northwest Uganda to Tanga in Tanzania on the Indian Ocean where the oil would then be sold onwards to world markets.
Besides the Chinese lenders, Bateebe said Uganda expects to get some funding from Saudi Arabia’s Islamic Development Bank and some African banks, including the African Export-Import Bank.
Bateebe said initially many Western-backed lenders had expressed interest in financing the pipeline but pulled out due to strong opposition from environmental and human rights groups who have said the oilfields and pipeline threaten the region’s fragile ecosystem and the livelihoods of thousands of people. Further, environmentalists say Uganda is going against the global push for energy transition away from fossil fuels. By Jevans Nyabiage, South China Morning Post
Nine suspected linked to mysterious dissapearance of Sh160 million belonging to the National Intelligence Services Sacco have been arrested.
The suspects some senior employees of the Sacco in question were arrested on Friday by the Directorate of Ciminal Investigation detectives.
Those arrested are Amos Kipchumba the Sacco's internal auditor, loans manager Violet Wali, accountant Caren Langat, system analysts Hamisi Zaunga and Miriam Nthenya and Moses Ntoinya an NIS officer.
Others are Nicodemus Osiemo, Eric Rono from Sure-step Systems, and Tony Wabomba a former employee of the Sacco Society.
The DCI on its Twitter said the nine, all employees of Njiwa Sacco were rounded up following comprehensive joint investigations, conducted by detectives and officials from the spy agency.
The directorate said the suspects will be arraigned in court on Monday, September 25, 2023 to answer to their crimes.
It said its detectives are on the trail of three other suspects who have since gone into hiding.
“The agencies involved in the investigation of this high level fraud shall continue to investigate and expose corrupt individuals and networks, while taking concrete steps to ensure transparency and accountability in the management of public entities,” read part of the statement. By Esther Nyambura, The Standard
Tunis is to receive financial aid from the European Union aimed at reducing the number of migrants leaving Tunisia by boat for Italy, the European Commission announced on Friday.
The payments are partially linked to a controversial deal between the European Commission and Tunisia, worth up to more than €1 billion in aid for Tunis, signed in July despite allegations of human rights abuses by the Tunisian government.
The dispersements of a total of €127 million ($135 million) are earmarked to "address the urgent situation that we see in Lampedusa," a spokeswoman for the European Commission said, and as budgetary support for the economically struggling country.
On Sunday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited the Italian island of Lampedusa together with Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, after a sharp increase in migrant arrivals.
Because of its proximity to the Tunisian coastal city of Sfax, Lampedusa has long been one of the main destinations for migrants from North Africa seeking to reach European shores.
Roughly half of the new payments, which are to be disbursed in the coming days, should be used for new coastguard ships, equipment for vessels including thermal cameras, search and rescue operations and repatriation of migrations, the spokeswoman said.
After fewer arrivals during the Covid-19 pandemic, more migrants have reached the EU in recent months.
More than 127,200 people have already arrived in Italy alone via sea this year, according to the latest Interior Ministry figures. This figure last year was 66,200. story by DPA
A Church of England charity has offered £7 million in slavery reparations, prompting Barbados to criticise the “unilateral” decision of how much compensation should be paid.
Earlier this month the United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG) committed £7 million as a “reparations project” for its ownership of the Codrington Estate, once the site of one of Barbados’ largest sugar plantations.
The Anglican mission agency, then known as the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, profited from slave labour on the Codrington Estate between 1710 and 1838, while operating as the Church of England’s primary mission agency in North and Central America.
The announcement of the £7 million fund – worth 18 million Barbadian dollars – to be spent in Barbados over the next 10 to 15 years was hailed as by the USPG as making amends for “its disgraceful links to the slave trade”.
The fund aims to work with descendants of people who were enslaved in community development, historical research, memorialisation and family research.
However, representatives from the Barbadian government’s national task force on reparations have criticised the payments on the grounds that the USPG did not negotiate the terms nor the amount with them.
The move comes after The Telegraph revealed earlier this month that Caribbean nations are to formally demand slavery reparations from the Royal Family, Lloyds of London and the Church of England for their role in the slave trade and plantation system.
The Most Rev Justin Welby, in his role as Archbishop of Canterbury, serves as the president of the USPG, which is UK-based and retains funding and governance links with the Church of England.
Responding to the USPG’s £7 million fund, David Comissiong, deputy chairman of the national task force on reparations, said that compensation should not be determined by the same organisations who benefited from slavery.
He said: “We need to point out to the Church of England and all similar institutions that reparations are not about them unilaterally determining what compensation they are prepared to make. Reparations do not work like that.”
Trevor Prescod, a Barbados MP and special envoy to the prime minister on reparations, also criticised the donation, saying: “The Church believes that it can do whatever it wants to do, without any respect to the agencies that the government has set up.”
Mr Prescod, who also leads the national task force and is part of the Caricom reparations commission, added: “They did not pass money into the hands of any state agency. We have no authority to see if they will execute the project.
“They can’t exclude the government from the planning… We have to protect the interests of our people.”
Meanwhile, Duncan Dormor, the general secretary of USPG, has said: “USPG is deeply ashamed of our past links to slavery.
“We recognise that it is not simply enough to repent in thought and word, but we must take action, action, working in partnership with Codrington where the descendants of enslaved persons are still deeply impacted by the generational trauma that came from the Codrington plantations.”
A spokesman for the USPG said: “The project has been developed in close partnership with the Codrington Trust in Barbados, who own and manage the estates. Indeed, the programme proposals have come entirely from the Codrington Trust.
“As an organisation, we are seeking to take responsibility for our actions in the past through this programme of reparative activity. We will continue to be guided by our partnership with the Codrington Trust around the approach to reparations in Barbados.”
Barbados has emerged as a leader in the Caribbean’s pursuit of compensation for crimes committed during the colonial era.
The capital city, Bridgetown, was host to a meeting of African union and Caribbean community nations in July, at which an “intercontinental campaign” was launched to demand compensation for slavery from European former colonial powers.
The country, which removed Elizabeth II as head of state two years ago to become a republic, has been making reparations claims against Britain and individual British citizens. Story by Gabriella Swerling, Eric Williams, The Telegraph
Minister also meets with former Global High Schools category winner and CEO of Mazi Mobility
Supported by the UAE’s pioneering award, the Zayed Sustainability Prize, M-KOPA is on track to reach 4 million underbanked consumers in sub-Saharan Africa by this year
During a visit to M-KOPA, one of Africa’s leading fintech platforms, COP28 President-Designate and UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, highlighted the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises in creating technologies that create lasting positive change in vulnerable and remote communities, while helping to meet our climate ambitions and keep 1.5C within reach.
M-KOPA, one of the fastest growing companies in Africa, is one of 106 past winners of the Zayed Sustainability Prize, the UAE's pioneering award that recognises groundbreaking contributions across the fields of health, food, energy, water and climate action.
During a tour of M-KOPA’s facilities and a briefing by its Managing Director, David Damberger, Dr. Al Jaber, who helped establish the Prize and is its Director General, said: “Prize winners continue to address some of the most pressing sustainable development challenges we face today. They are providing quality healthcare, nutritious food, essential energy, and access to safe water—in short, a better world for us all.”
Dr Al Jaber is in Kenya for the Africa Energy Forum to prepare for the UAE’s hosting of COP28, which will take place in Dubai at the end of the year and marks the next step in global cooperation on fighting climate change. The summit comes at the crucial halfway point between the landmark Paris Agreement of 2015 and the 2030 target for climate action, with the first global stocktake of emissions cuts providing a valuable opportunity to align global efforts.
This moment also shines a spotlight on the work of M-KOPA and other past winners of the Zayed Sustainability Prize, which have been addressing climate-related challenges in vulnerable countries around the world. In line with the UAE's own prioirities, they have been taking important steps to reform land use, transform food systems and ensure a pragmatic energy transition.
Since its founding in 2010, M-KOPA has reduced more than 2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, connected 400,000 first-time Internet users, and served over 3 million customers across sub-Saharan Africa. To achieve this, the company has built one of the world’s most advanced connected financing platforms, deploying US $1 billion in credit to the financially excluded. The company has also provided extensive training and employment, generating more than US $180 million in extra income for its sales agents.
M-KOPA's flexible credit model allows individuals to pay a small deposit and get instant access to everyday essentials, including electric motorcycles, solar power systems, smartphones and then graduate to digital financial services such as loans and health insurance. Most recently, the company successfully closed over $200m in sustainability-linked debt financing to to drive women’s financial inclusion and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in its East African markets by further developing its solar products offering, making a meaningful contribution to fighting climate change.
David Damberger, Managing Director of M-KOPA, said: “It was a privilege to receive His Excellency Dr. Sultan Al Jaber today and showcasing the remarkable impact we have made through our sustainable solutions.”
“Receiving the Zayed Sustainability Prize, marked a pivotal moment in our journey, and we are deeply grateful for the recognition," he added. " At M-KOPA, we have been driven by a deep-rooted commitment to empower underbanked consumers whilst combating climate change through our flexible credit model and clean energy solutions. We sincerely hope that our success serves as an inspiration for other small businesses and entrepreneurs across Africa to apply for the Prize, as it has the power to drive transformative change. Moreover, it is a testament to the UAE's support of African small businesses and it's humanitarian legacy, which continues to empower and uplift communities worldwide.”
During his visit, Dr. Al Jaber also met with former winner in the Prize’s Global High Schools category and current CEO of Mazi Mobility, Jesse Forrester, who updated the COP President-Designate on his e-mobility company, which operates a fleet of electric motorbikes and tuk-tuks.
Dr. Al Jaber said: “The Global High Schools category was launched to inspire youth to realise their potential and encourage them to pursue careers in the field of sustainability. To see this come to fruition through one of our previous winners speaks volumes on the transformative impact of the Prize. Seeing first-hand what Jesse has built is truly inspiring and should serve as a model for other young entrepreneurs who want to change the world.”
“Climate change poses a challenge across health, food, energy, and water, amongst other issues, and only by adopting an “all of the above“ approach can we hope to ensure a just transition that leaves nobody behind. SMEs represent 80% of global GDP but the vast majority have not even started their net-zero journies. The Zayed Sustainability Prize is determined to empower those who strive to create value in the energy transition and demonstrate that climate action can lead to sustainable development. As we approach COP28, I am determined to empower the voices and perspectives of young entrepreneurs, like Jesse, and to ensure that we deliver practical solutions that can change the lives of millions more like him.“
In its 15th year, the Zayed Sustainability Prize has transformed the lives of over 378 million people around the world by empowering 106 past winners to make a difference. Each winner in the Health, Food, Energy, Water and Climate Action categories receives US $600,000 to expand the scope and scale of their sustainability solutions. Six winners in the Global High Schools category each receive up to US $100,000. By empowering entrepreneurs to build their solutions, the Prize has to date awarded US $3.6 million.
About the Zayed Sustainability Prize
The Zayed Sustainability Prize is a tribute to the legacy of the late founding father of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The Prize aims to drive sustainable development and humanitarian action by recognising and rewarding organisations and high schools that are delivering innovative sustainable solutions across the categories of Health, Food, Energy, Water, Climate Action and Global High Schools. For over 15 years, through its 106 winners, the Prize has positively impacted the lives of over 378 million people in 151 countries. *Source: AETOSWire
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