Construction of Busanga Hydroelectric Power Plant: 4 villages must evacuate before 29 July

Eleven civil society organizations are warning of the threat to at least four villages in Busanga. These NGOs active in the governance of the energy sector have written to the provincial minister of the interior of Lualaba asking him to postpone the 12-day period granted to the inhabitants of the villages, Kamalenge, Monga Lubuza and Wafinya who are being asked to leave. They want the deadline to extend to a final and satisfactory compromise for all parties.

In a statement signed on July 17, the provincial minister asked residents who had already received compensation to release their homes by July 29 to allow Sycohydro to dig the basins useful for the dam’s operation. Minister Kapenda Wa Kapenda Deodat justified his statement with the decision of the Lualaba Provincial Security Council of 15 July 2020.

“Our organizations consider that the threat of demolition of houses in the Busanga project’s settlement area does not take into account many of the legitimate problems and demands raised by local coastal communities: the adjustment of the low compensation paid by Sicohydro through your Commission, the lack of an effective policy for relocating farmers, the absence of mechanisms for dealing with community complaints. , the lack of a framework for consultation between stakeholders, the absence of specifications for the electrification of the area and the coastal populations.”

write these NGOs.

These organizations also denounce “arbitrary arrests” and “intimidation of the people who make up the relocation committee who have now been living in hiding for a month, just after your visit to the field (Editor’s note, the Minister’s visit).

For these NGOs, such a situation violates the constitution, with the Law providing fundamental principles on environmental protection and the Decree setting out the rules for the functioning of procedural mechanisms for environmental protection.

These organizations stress that the implementation of the Busanga Hydroelectric project is part of the Chinese contract, which aims to revive the country’s economy on the one hand and improve the well-being of people on the other hand, however, this project should respect human rights and integrate the demands of local communities in its evolution.

They call on the Minister to involve other ministries, state services and other stakeholders to ensure the protection and respect of the rights of local communities in the process of relocating and relocating populations from the Busanga Hydroelectric project.

For them, there is an urgent need to re-evaluate beforehand in full transparency and in accordance with universally recognized laws and good practices, including ISO 26000, the allowances to be awarded to persons to be moved. They also propose that the provincial executive implement and popularize a policy of resettlement of communities and farmers displaced by Sicohydro. To avoid further conflicts, they add, it will be important to establish a framework for dialogue between Sicohydro and the people living along the river for the management of complaints.