Grievance & Whistle Blowing Mechanisms

Unlocking East Africa’s Potential

Grievance Procedure

The management of grievances is a central part of the stakeholder engagement process. The Project has developed a Grievance Management Procedure which is a step-by-step approach for receiving, acknowledging, and registering, reviewing, investigating and resolving complaints and grievances from all Project affected stakeholders.

This Project level Grievance Management Procedure reflect the Project’s commitment to ensuring that communities and individuals adversely affected by the Project are able to raise a grievance so that it can be remediated.

As part of their regular engagement with stakeholders, EACOP stakeholder engagement team ensure that the Grievance Procedure is well known and understood by local communities who need clear information, in a summarized form, adapted to the local context and language, and combined with practical explanations about the following points:

The different ways of submitting a grievance.
A short description of the Procedure’s different steps and time frame.
The possibility for Complainants to be assisted by trustworthy people when submitting their grievance, when holding discussions with the Project stakeholder engagement team and when signing documents.
That the Procedure is free of charge; and
The confidential nature of the Procedure and that the Complainants’ identity will not be revealed if they wish this to be the case or if the context so requires.

GRIEVANCE MANAGEMENT PROCESS FLOW

Grievance received through toll free line, email, field staff, contractor, local leader, written or verbal submission.

Step 1

Receive

Grievance received through toll free line, email, field staff, contractor, local leader, written or verbal submission.

Grievance recorded in grievance register. • Sensitive cases → NAVEX • Vulnerable cases → flagged for fast tracking

Step 2

Grievance recorded in grievance register. • Sensitive cases → NAVEX • Vulnerable cases → flagged for fast tracking

Grievance Administrator assigns grievance to responsible grievance owner.

Step 3

Assign

Grievance Administrator assigns grievance to responsible grievance owner.

Grievant formally informed that grievance is under review and advised of next steps.

Step 4

Acknowledge

Grievant formally informed that grievance is under review and advised of next steps.

Grievance owner investigates, verifies impacts, and identifies corrective actions.

Step 5

Investigate

Grievance owner investigates, verifies impacts, and identifies corrective actions.

Findings and proposed resolution communicated to grievant. Decision Point • Accepted → Proceed to Resolution • Not Accepted → Escalate

Step 6

Respond

Findings and proposed resolution communicated to grievant. Decision Point • Accepted → Proceed to Resolution • Not Accepted → Escalate

Agreed actions implemented and monitored; confirmation obtained from grievant.

Step 7

Resolve

Agreed actions implemented and monitored; confirmation obtained from grievant.

Grievance Management Committee → District Consultative Committee → Appeal Committee.

Step 8

Escalate (if required)

Grievance Management Committee → District Consultative Committee → Appeal Committee.

Grievance closed as Resolved / Unresolved / Unfounded / Abandoned and recorded in Borealis.

Step 9

Close Out

Grievance closed as Resolved / Unresolved / Unfounded / Abandoned and recorded in Borealis.

Note:

Sensitive cases requiring confidentiality are referred to the independent NAVEX mechanism, while grievances from vulnerable persons are prioritized for expedited handling.

Findings and proposed resolutions are communicated to the complainant, and agreed actions are implemented and monitored to completion. Where resolution is not achieved, grievances are escalated through defined appeal levels before formal closeout, without limiting access to judicial remedies.

East African Crude Oil Pipeline Project (EACOP) is committed to an environment where open, honest communications are the expectation, not the exception. We want you to feel comfortable in approaching your supervisor or management in instances where you believe violations of policies or standards have occurred.

In situations where you prefer to place an anonymous report in confidence, the information you provide will be sent to us by EthicsPoint on a totally confidential and anonymous basis. You have our guarantee that your comments will be heard.

After you complete your report you will be assigned a unique code called a “report key.” Write down your report key and password and keep them in a safe place. After 5-6 business days, use your report key and password to check your report for feedback or questions.