The Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND) in collaboration with the New Nigeria Foundation (NNF) on Tuesday, November 30, 2021 organized a workshop for national and international oil companies on the Host Community Development Trust (HCDT) aspect of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
The 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), aimed to facilitate discussions and elicit practical insights on how oil companies can deliver the PIA mandate effectively and efficiently.
In his opening remarks, the executive director of PIND, 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 “settlors”, are obliged make an annual contribution based on 3% 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,” Mr. Idowu said even as 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, Professor Obafemi Ajibola in his comments, emphasized the need for oil industry stakeholders to understand the PIA ahead of its implementation, emphasizing 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 organizational 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 Mr. Idowu, who anchored the final presentation, noted that already PIND has active experience in building the technical and institutional capacities of local civil society organizations (CSOs) and community based organizations (CBOs) to deliver needs-based services to their constituencies; and in supporting the implementation of initiatives under the host communities global memorandum of understanding (GMOU) community engagement model through needs assessment, livelihood initiatives and grassroots-based conflict early warning and early response and grievance mechanisms, resulting in its heading an extensive partnership network comprising of several experienced and dynamic organizations in the Niger Delta region which aids effective and efficient service delivery.
Noting that no single organization could solve the complexities involved with transitioning into the HCDT era alone, Mr. 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 organizations like PIND and NNF with a mission to advance sustainable economic development for communities in the Niger Delta region,” he said.
The workshop, which combined in-person and virtual participation, had forty-three persons in attendance including representatives from national and international oil companies.
