A section of residents in the villages of Bulima and Bukayu in Busamuzi Sub-County in Buvuma District have resisted plans by the National Oil Project (NOP) under the Ministry of Agriculture to take over their land before receiving their due compensation.
Although the government agreed to pay for private land as they seek to expand the project, a section of residents fear that they may not get their money as promised, citing examples of such projects in other parts of the country.
The Buvuma Oil Palm project kicked off in 2021, and the government needed enough land for the nucleus estate and several other hectares for outgrowers. Although the initial target was to secure 11,000 hectares of land for the project, they settled for 7,500 hectares of which 2,500 hectares are for the outgrowers.
On Wednesday, when NOP sent its surveyors to open the boundaries, the residents put up resistance, saying they needed their compensation packages first, without which the project would not take off.
Ms Josephine Nakibondwe, a resident of Bulimia Village, said she inherited part of the land NOP wants to utilize from her father and has no alternative land to relocate to without compensation.
‘This land is the only asset I have and I cannot allow a grader here before I receive my compensation,’ she said.
Mr Ronald Kasibante, another aggrieved resident from Bukayu Village, claimed that NOP has been taking residents’ land without compensation, an illegality they were not ready to tolerate.
“There are many people whose land was taken without payment; they come and start clearing the land, and after clearing they plant oil palm trees and tell people to wait for compensation. This is unfair,” he said.
Mr Muhammad Musisi, the chairperson of Bulima Village said the NOP team did not inform him about the planned boundary opening.
“I’m not happy as the village chairperson. How can the government send a team to open boundaries without notifying local leaders? This is unacceptable,” he said.
Mr David Ssenyonjo, the chairperson of Busamuzi Sub-County, rallied all affected residents not to allow NOP workers to trespass on their land before receiving their compensation.
Mr Anthony Wanyoto, a communications and knowledge management officer at NOP said the residents surrendered the land to the government willingly and their compensation is being processed.
‘No one is being evicted, the land where boundary opening is taking place is already controlled by the government, and the former owners are yet to receive their compensation packages. There have been some delays, but very soon they will receive their money,’ he said.
This is not the first time residents in Buvuma have blocked NOP staff from doing their work. In 2023, residents of Kakyanga, Bwaka, Kibondwe, and Bukiyindi blocked oil palm growing on private land until they received their compensation packages.
Out of the 89 villages scattered in the sub counties of Busamuzi, Buwooya,Nairambi and Buvuma Town Council, only 20 have been compensated.
The plan to grow oil palm on Buvuma Island is part of the government’s wider project to expand the edible oil industry in the country.