The Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND) in collaboration with the New Nigeria Foundation (NNF) has tasked national and international oil companies on the implementation of aspects of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) on host communities.
In a workshop tagged, “Transitioning to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA): A stepwise approach to prepare oil and gas companies for the establishment and implementation of the Host Community Development Trust (HCDT),” the collaborating organisations said there was a need to discuss and elicit practical insights on how oil companies could deliver the PIA mandate effectively and efficiently.
In his opening remarks, Executive Director of PIND, Mr Tunji Idowu, noted that PIA’s mandate to create HCDTs for the benefit of host communities was a major game-changer for many oil and gas industry players as it portended a radical departure from the current industry status quo.
According to the PIA, the oil operators, described as “settlers”, are obliged to make an annual contribution based on three per cent of their yearly operating expenditure to the Trust.
“Although the PIA mandate is targeted towards players in the oil industry, solving the complexities around the effective and efficient transition to the PIA requires the combined efforts, resources, and capabilities of broader stakeholders,” Idowu said.
He acknowledged the settlors’ prior experience and established governance systems from running various models of corporate social investment before the enactment of the PIA.
The Managing Director of NNF, Prof Obafemi Ajibola, in his comments, emphasised the need for oil industry stakeholders to understand the PIA ahead of its implementation, adding that “there’s going to be a lot of definitions that would have to be done.”
Hinged on a series of presentations that proposed a sustainable and efficient model for implementation of the HCDT, the workshop unpacked the objectives and organisational model of the PIA and the funding and fund management of the HCDT, and dissected the intricate issues around the transition to the PIA such as the requirements for the implementation, the possible implementation challenges and technicalities around structuring and defining host communities.
The workshop further elicited strategies for identifying and engaging stakeholders, composing competent HCDT boards, and instituting systematic mechanisms for grievance management
Idowu, who anchored the final presentation, noted that already PIND has active experience in building the technical and institutional capacities of local civil society organisations (CSOs) and community-based organisations (CBOs) to deliver needs-based services to their constituencies.
He noted that no single organisation could solve the complexities involved with transitioning into the HCDT era alone.
Idowu encouraged the settlors to collaborate with a broader stakeholder base to achieve results.
“We strongly believe that, by leveraging the collective strengths and experiences in this workshop today, we will unlock clear pathways and actions towards the smooth transition to the PIA requirements to the benefit of the settlors, the Niger Delta communities, and local organisations like PIND and NNF with a mission to advance sustainable economic development for communities in the Niger Delta region,” he said.
