East African lawyers eye oil pipeline rewards

Dar es Salaam. The East Africa Law Society (EALS) yesterday said it is high time lawyers in the bloc formed a large firm that will enable members of the regional bar to have opportunities that will be brought by the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (Eacop).

The regional body says the project is huge for lawyers in the bloc to benefit individually, hinting that the law practitioners will only benefit by working through a single body or by joint ventures with other international firms.

The EALS president, Mr Bernard Ound, made the remarks yesterday when addressing members of the Tanzania bar association during a conference to underscore means of enjoying the opportunities to be brought by the 1,443km pipeline from Hoima in Uganda to the Indian Ocean port of Tanga in Tanzania.

“We need to work together even if under a joint venture with foreign firms. Skills transferred will be useful to bloc members of the regional bar in tapping future opportunities,” said Mr Ound.

He said the meeting should serve the purpose of sharing experience on how lawyers within the East African Community (EAC) member states would grab opportunities by working together instead of individual struggles.

According to him, the large firm to be formed by the bloc members of the profession would bring together practitioners with different areas of expertise, be it in areas of contracts, dispute resolution, investment and many others.

He said most foreign companies would like to work with local firms with diversified areas of expertise instead of hiring multiple companies, something that would adversely affect efficiency and effectiveness in execution of their activities.

A Rex Attorneys partner, Mr Daudi Ramadhan, said it is important for lawyers in the bloc to know how their agenda would be driven during the project implementation.

“Since oil and gas are the new projects to be implemented in the country, our perception has been such projects need to be executed by foreign firms. However, we are supposed to change and consider how we can join hands in the race,” he said. He said since the project involves different areas of expertise, bar members in the region should work hand in hand in order to benefit instead of working in isolation.

An advocate from the Joachim and Jacob Attorneys, Ms Grace Joachim, said only through unity and cooperation that lawyers in the region would benefit from opportunities, saying that is how others in foreign countries do.

“This meeting should help us to understand the starting point and start looking for the large portions of the project,” she said.

On Thursday, Tanzania’s Chief Justice (CJ), Prof Ibrahim Juma, told the EALS and the Tanganyika Law Society (TLS) presidents that they should think of opening a legal market beyond borders of individual countries.

He urged them to enhance and advance regional integration by displaying their readiness and willingness to serve the region for the interest of the bloc.

“Therefore, lawyers from the bloc should be ready to align their practice models with global advancements,” said Prof Juma as he hosted the duo for discussion at his office. He said broadened opportunities following the admission of the new member in the club--the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) --should trigger their eagerness to benefit from the increased legal market. Eacop shareholders are TotalEnergies (62 percent), Unoc (15 percent), Tanzania Petroleum Development Company or TPDC (15 percent) and China National Offshore Oil Corporation or Cnooc (8 percent).

Environmentalists in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Europe and the United States, have criticised the project and petitioned targeted banks not to finance the pipeline, saying it is harmful to the sensitive biodiversity of the Albertine region and other natural resources along the route.

When completed in 2025, Eacop will be the world’s longest heated pipeline, and activists say it will generate 34 million tonnes of carbon dioxide and compromise climate goals.