Africa Community Day

Malicounda power plant – Senegal

Malicounda is a 120 MW combined cycle thermal power plant under construction 85 kilometres from Dakar. It will initially run on fuel oil but is expected to be converted to natural gas when this becomes available from local fields. In 2018, the AfDB approved a €51 million loan for the project.

The power plant supplied 21.97% of the country’s energy, and 243.400 million CFA were allocated for the restoration of livelihoods and social support for project-affected peoples. However, the project had also led to serious challenges and violations, including:

• Poor Resettlement Action Plan, with loss of agricultural land and residential plots, covering an area of 16.87 hectares
• Insufficient compensation
• Insufficient and inadequate consultations
• Predetory practices in the purchase of land
• Air pollution due to emissions of various pollutants and greenhouse gases.

In 2021, communities filed a complaint with the AfDB’s Independent Remedy Mechanism and in December 2023 the project-affected peoples signed a mediation agreement with the company. Currently, communities continue to demand proper implementation of the mediation agreement, conversion to gas to reduce air quality pollution, and monitoring of the social support and livelihood restoration plan.

Nachtigal hydropower project, Cameroon

Financed by a range of regional and international financiers such as AfDB, EIB and the Cameroonian Government, the Nachtigal Hydro Power Project was launched with the promise of bringing clean, affordable electricity to the country. With regard to concerns of surrounding communities, the implementing Nachtigal Hydro Power Company (NHPC) and financiers have highlighted their commitment to local recruitment and job creation, promoting the project as a driver of livelihood improvement for communities’ residents.

Among the positive impacts, there have been: construction of boreholes and classrooms in some communities; donation of medical equipment to some health centers; free health screening campaigns for onchositosis and distribution of mosquito nets; and awards of academic scholarships and excellence prize awards for students.

However, since construction started in 2018, nearby communities have experienced profound social, environmental, and cultural impacts, with effects that are expected to have severe long-term implications beyond the project’s completion at the end of 2025. For instance, fishermen who have no longer access to the river and fishmongers and restaurateurs who relied on processing and selling fish have largely lost their livelihoods. Farmers who once cultivated fertile land alongside the riverbanks have been partly relocated away from their agricultural land and face environmental challenges such as deforestation and soil infertility. Other key challenges include:

• Poor stakeholder consultation
• Loss of livelihoods, property and forests.
• Insuffcient and/or delayed compensations.
• Change in atmospheric and weather conditions
• Destruction and displacement of sacred sites
• Aggravation of social tensions.

In collaboration with Green Development Advocates (GDA), local communities have challenged the government, local administrative authorities, NHPC and financiers through writing letters, direct engagement and speaking out in public media campaigns. In 2022, with the support of GDA and Both Ends, they filed a formal complaint to the Independent Accountability Mechanisms Network (CAO) leading to the initiation of a Dispute Resolution Process with CAO, the Accountability Mechanism (AM) of the World Bank, and Independent Resource Mechanisms (IRM) of the AfDB. As this process was the first of its kind to bring three parties on board at the same time, this represented a clear success for communities and NGOs. In May 2024, the parties signed a Dispute Resolution Agreement committing them to restore livelihoods, support vulnerable groups, and provide collective benefits like education, training, and jobs for local youth. Yet, the communities’ struggle for justice and accountability continues.

East Africa Coastal Corridor Road Project – Kenya

The East African Coastal Corridor Development Project, co-financed by the AfDB, European Union and the governments of Kenya and Tanzania is set to advance the socio-economic development plan of Kenya Vision 2030, which aims at sustaining and expanding physical infrastructure to support a rapidly-growing economy. In Kenya, the project is implemented by the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) and passes through Mombasa, Kilifi and Kwale Counties.

WeRise Africa has been at the forefront of championing the rights of children against child sexual exploitaion and abuse/harrasemnnt (SEAH) and chld labor, in particular along the Mombasa-Mtwapa-Killifi Road (A7) project.

Key challenges included:

• High risk of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (SEA/H) of women and children in hotspot areas along the project corridor due to influx of labor.
• Increase in road traffic accidents due to high vehicle speeds, poor signage, and pedestrian safety issues.
• Disruption of school activities caused by noise, dust, and air pollution from construction works near learning institutions.
• Incidences of indirect child labor as children engage in informal activities to supplement household income.
• Socio-economic and environmental challenges affecting vulnerable groups such as women, children, and persons with disabilities, including loss of livelihood and limited participation in project decisions.
• Delayed access to project documents and inadequate information disclosure and access, leading to reduced transparency and community involvement.

Menengai geothermal power project | Kenya

In the heart of Kenya’s Rift Valley, the Menengai geothermal project—despite being presented as a green, sustainable solution advancing a “just” energy transition—is causing serious noise, air, and environmental pollution while negatively impacting the communities living near the construction area. Consultations around the project were flawed, and the concerns raised by local activists and community members have been repeatedly disregarded. Moreover, the project has failed to ensure benefit-sharing and equitable employment opportunities.

The project, run by Kenya’s state-owned Geothermal Development Company (GDC), is backed by a $198.4 million investment from international partners. The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) provided a $120 million concessional loan and helped mobilize additional funding from the Strategic Climate Fund, the Eastern and Southern African Trade & Development Bank, and the Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation.

The project currently includes three power plants. The first, built by the Nairobi-based Sosian Energy, is already operational. The second, owned by Globeleq, is expected to be operational by the end of 2025. Meanwhile, Kaishan/Orpower22 has begun constructing the third plant.

In March 2025, the grassroots organization Menengai West Stakeholders Forum (MWESFO) celebrated an important legal victory: recognizing the concerns about harmful impacts, the Environment and Lands Court of the Nakuru High Court revoked Sosian’s current license and ordered a new comprehensive environmental and social assessment.

Karuma Hydropower Project | Uganda

The Karuma hydropower project is located on the Nile River in Kiryadongo District, Uganda. It is one of the largest hydropower dams, designed to generate 600 MW of electricity to meet Uganda’s growing energy needs. Construction began in 2013 and was carried out by the Sinohydro Corporation Limited, a Chinese state- owned company. The project was funded jointly by the Government of Uganda and the Export-Import Bank of China. The African Development Bank (AfDB) is now financing a portion of the 299 km, 400 kV transmission line from the Karuma Hydroelectric Power Station in Uganda to Gumbo in South Sudan. This project, part of the larger Uganda-South Sudan Power Interconnection Project (SUPIP), will help transmit excess power from Karuma to South Sudan, with funding for key components including the transmission line and substations. 

While the construction of the dam was framed as an economic development and driver of progress, it has caused widespread displacement for the people of Kiryandongo district, unfair compensation for land and property, and loss of livelihoods, particularly for farmers and fishers whose land and river access were lost. Vulnerable groups, including the elderly, women and child-headed households, and the poor or sick, were promised resettlement but remained uncompensated over a decade later. In addition to economic impacts, the project has led to social risks including unsafe working conditions for youth and women, and ongoing legal struggles for justice.

Key challenges include:

• 414 households displaced, affecting over 800 people.
• 65+ households contested undervalued compensation but were forcefully evicted and underpaid.
• 119 vulnerable households still not resettled 13 years later; around 20 heads of households have died due to poor living conditions.
  61 households took the case to court (since 2017);
• hearings repeatedly postponed as government officials and project proponents fail to appear.
• mediation attempts stalled — no mediator, venue, or schedule set as of 2025, prolonging community suffering.
• Young girls exploited during dam construction — reports of rape and pregnancies by foreign workers, no accountability or support.
• Many displaced girls dropped out of school, forced into street vending; several killed in roadside accidents.

The community is demanding that:

• There is an urgent need for immediate review of property valuation and payment of adequate compensation to those who were underpaid.
• The government should immediately resettle the 119 vulnerable households.
• Those who have not yet been resettled should not only be resettled, but also compensated for the psychological, physical, social, and economic suffering they have endured since being forcefully evicted from their properties.
• Parents and girl children who were sexually abused, exploited, or impregnated should be compensated for the damages, and the perpetrators should be brought to justice.
• EXIM Bank of China should be condemned for funding a project that failed to meet the required social and environmental safeguard standards.
• No reputable bank or credible funder, including AfDB or the EU, should continue to fund the Transmission and Export components of the Karuma Hydropower Project, whose dam construction has not only failed to follow recognized international social and environmental safeguards, but has also resulted in human rights abuses against affected community members, including girl children.