The Charcoal Grey Market in Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan (2021)

COMMODITY REPORT BLACK GOLD The charcoal grey market in Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan SIMONE HAYSOM I MICHAEL McLAGGAN JULIUS KAKA I LUCY MODI I KEN OPALA MARCH 2021 BLACK GOLD The charcoal grey market in Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan ww Simone Haysom I Michael McLaggan Julius Kaka I Lucy Modi I Ken Opala March 2021 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to thank everyone who gave their time to be interviewed for this study. They would like to extend particular thanks to Dr Catherine Nabukalu, at the University of Pennsylvania, and Bryan Adkins, at UNEP, for playing an invaluable role in correcting our misperceptions and deepening our analysis. We would also like to thank Nhial Tiitmamer, at the Sudd Institute, for providing us with additional interviews and information from South Sudan at short notice. Finally, we thank Alex Goodwin for excel- lent editing. Interviews were conducted in South Sudan, Uganda and Kenya between February 2020 and November 2020. ABOUT THE AUTHORS Simone Haysom is a senior analyst at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC), with expertise in urban development, corruption and organized crime, and over a decade of experience conducting qualitative fieldwork in challenging environments. She is currently an associate of the Oceanic Humanities for the Global South research project based at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Ken Opala is the GI-TOC analyst for Kenya. He previously worked at Nation Media Group as deputy investigative editor and as editor-in-chief at the Nairobi Law Monthly. He has won several journalistic awards in his career. Michael McLaggan is an analyst at the GI-TOC. His work focuses mainly on grey market trades and associated risks, including weak state capacity and organized crime. Julius Kaka is a research consultant for the GI-TOC. He is also a part-time lecturer in the Department of Social Sciences at Uganda Christian University, teaching courses in interna- tional security, transnational organized crime and foreign-policy analysis. Lucy P. Modi is an independent researcher working on conflict transformation, reconciliation and media issues. Previously she was engaged in broadcast media work in different media organizations with a keen interest in the role of media in peacebuilding and conflict-sensitive reporting. © 2021 Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the Global Initiative. Cover: A charcoal production site in Kenya. In East Africa, where access to electricity remains low, the use of charcoal as fuel is an essential commodity. © Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images. Cover design and illustration: Ink Design and Layout Cartography: Liezel Bohdanowicz Please direct inquiries to: The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime Avenue de France 23 Geneva, CH-1202 Switzerland www.globalinitiative.net CONTENTS Executive summary ��iv Grey market charcoal: corruption and criminality risks �� 4 Methodology �� 7 The charcoal trade: impact and regulation ��8 Kenya �� 13 Uganda �� 14 South Sudan �� 16 Regional roles and flows �� 18 Kenya �� 19 Uganda �� 23 South Sudan �� 25 Charcoal value chains �� 26 Producers �� 27 Brokers �� 29 Transporters �� 30 Dealers ��30 Retailers �� 31 Criminal markets: Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan �� 32 Kenya �� 35 Uganda �� 37 South Sudan �� 38 Conclusion ��40 Recommendations �� 43 Appendix �� 44 Notes �� 48 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Buckets of charcoal for sale in Entebbe, Uganda. © Camille Delbos/Art In All of Us/Corbis via Getty Images harcoal is one of the most important commodities in sub-Saharan Africa, with as much as 80% of the urban population in the East Africa region using Ccharcoal as their primary energy needs for cooking.1 It is cheap, efficient and easily transportable. It also provides income and livelihoods for millions of people. In Kenya, for example, the charcoal industry employed approximately 700 000 people in 2018, who in turn supported between 2.3 million and 2.5 million dependants.2 But for the majority of those who rely upon charcoal as a fuel, alternatives are often more expensive or less accessible.3 In East Africa, where urban populations are growing rapidly (see Figure 1), investment in other forms of energy (such as electrification) is not matching current needs, with inadequate infrastructure, limited ability to transmit electricity over long distances, and limited generation capacity.4 This created an ‘energy gap’ that is currently filled by wood fuels, among which charcoal is a common option.5 Nairobi Kampala 8 499 000 7 004 000 Juba 761 000 4 669 730 3 239 665 403 000 Population in 2020 Projected population in 2035 FIGURE 1 Current and projected population growth in Kampala, Nairobi and Juba. SOURCE: Population Stat ExecutivE SUMMARy 1 100 80 60 Percentages 40 20 0 Kenya Uganda South Sudan Electrification (2015) Electrification (2018) Access to clean cooking Households that use wood fuel for cooking: Kenya (2019), Uganda (2020), South Sudan (2018) FIGURE 2 Rates of electrification, wood fuel use and access to clean cooking. NOTE: Electrification has increased in all countries in focus in recent years, but charcoal remains a favoured source of fuel for cooking. Access to clean cooking remains very low, and rudimentary charcoal stoves and other such equipment are routinely used. SOURCES: The Energy Progress Report, Uganda 2016 National Charcoal Survey, Charcoal value chains in Kenya: a 20-year synthesis The dependence on charcoal comes at both an environmental and public health cost. Charcoal conversion is a contributor forest cover loss threatening biodiversity and, in turn, the environment that sustains rural populations,6 as well as posing a health risk due to rudimentary burning techniques and the use of inefficient charcoal stoves.7 A 2018 report on the state of East

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