By Kitab Unango
The lamentable management of oil wastes in Paloch of Melut County in Upper Nile State has sparked protests among residents seeking justice over the devastating health impacts caused by pollution in the oil field.
Last week, the people of Paloch embarked on a three-day demonstration in a show of discontent with what they say has resulted in alarming birth defects leaving many children born deformed.
Residents of Paloch County complained saying the environment they were living in was unsafe due to poor oil waste management, causing unknown illnesses and diseases among locals.
“The environment is very dangerous, with no clean drinking water, no hospital, and schools. People are dying from unknown diseases and children are born deformed. Both the government and the company are doing nothing,” a community member who only identified himself as Thon to void reprisal told City Review on phone.
Dar Petroleum Operating Company, a consortium of China National Petroleum Corporation, Petronas, Nilepet, Sinopec, and Tri-Ocena Energy has come under criticisms for failing to properly manage the oil field for the betterment of the people in the surrounding environment.
According to Section 60 paragraph (1) of the South Sudan Petroleum Act 2012, a licensee or contractor shall, before the commencement of petroleum activities, shall prepare an environmental management plan for systematic implementation of the environmental requirements for petroleum activities.
Paragraph 2, (a), (b), and (c) states that the plan shall identify environmental hazards, describe the risks relating to the petroleum activities, and provide details of the activities and measures that will be implemented to manage the hazards and risk.
Another member of the affected community of South Sudan’s oil-rich region who sought anonymity said they presented series of grievances to the government and its oil mining partners to consider the safety of the host community without any positive feedback, pushing them to demonstrate.
“It is more than 23 years since we started raising the complaint even before South Sudan got independence. The environment is not conducive for both humans and animals to live. With all these, the government and the companies cannot respond to us,” he told City Review on phone.
He added that “Even we are not benefiting, no employment opportunities for the young people, instead we are dying.”
The Oil Companies under section 65, paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Petroleum Act, 2012, are obliged to ensure employment opportunities are offered to South Sudanese who have the required qualifications and that no unskilled labour shall be contracted to aliens.
Media reports early this year alleged that the oil industry in the country had left the environment in Paloch pocked with hundreds of open waste pits, the water, and soil contaminated with toxic chemicals and heavy metals including mercury, manganese, and arsenic.
Last year, the government set an environmental audit committee to tackle the problem with Petroleum Minister Awow Daniel Chuang saying the ministry was concerned with the situation in Paloch. But residents say nothing has been done to guarantee their safety from environmental health hazards posed by the operation of the companies.
