PIA: Host community devt trusts lament inaccessibility of 3 % Devt Fund

 The leaders of newly inaugurated Host Community Development Trust (HCDT), have expressed frustrations with the opaque nature  oil companies regarding their operational expenses to ascertain what accrued for community development.

The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) stipulates that oil firms set aside three per cent of the operational expenses for development of the host communities.

The leaders expressed their worries on Wednesday during a town hall meeting organised by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), for HCDTs, oil companies and traditional rulers in Bayelsa.

They urged the regulators to ensure that the host communities are not shortchanged.

In his opening remarks, the National President Host Communities Producing Oil and Gas, HOSTCOM, Chief Benjamin Tamaramiebi, described said it is regrettable that the PIA is yet to be fully implemented in Niger Delta oil producing communities.

His words:”We have a meagre three per cent but the question is the three per cent that we are talking about have they implemented it? After two and a half years of the PIA.

“As the communities really impacted with this three per cent ? That is the question, communities have waited for so long.

“The first time we heard they are doing everything possible to ensure that they kick start behold after more than two years months they are yet to start implementing, nothing has been done rather one story to another.

“The question is, are these sectors deceiving us or the government deceiving the communities.

“These are small grants that is supposed to be coming in to keep the people high and because of these PIA and three per cent all those other social responsibility programmes have been suspended, so we keep waiting believing that the big fish will roll into our table and at the end of the day we will see nothing.

“How can we get our community to benefit? The reason why we came together to ask questions, now that there is a law binding us.

“We will keep pressurising the head of the regulatory agency to tell us why they are not implementing, some HDCTs have received funds and some have not and we want to know exactly what is the problem,” he said.

In his remark, the Chairman of Yenagoa/Ogbia HCDT, Mr Zuwa Konugha, regretted that they are yet to access the full funds required by the law from one of the multinational oil companies in the state.

Konugha said: “We were inaugurated in March last year and we had believed that immediately after inauguration funds will be released and things will take proper shape but one year down the line we are still waiting.

“The claims that they have funded the HCDTS , in our case the dollar component up till now is not complete and so we are still expecting that something should be done quickly, so that the communities will start having a feel of the PIA implementation.

“So far the Implementation is our concern, we have come to the reality that the three per cent is too meagre and for a community like us that is working on a capital intensive project to mitigate against flooding.

“We might not achieve it. We are appealing to the national assembly to help us amend and review the three to at least 10 or 15 per cent to enable host communities to execute legacy projects,” he said.

Also speaking the Chairman of the Bayelsa State Chapter of Traditional Rulers of Oil Producing Communities, TROMPCOM, and traditional ruler of Ekowe, HRH King Tobord Godswill, said the funds accrued have been paid,but they have not been given approval and authorization to spend it.

He said: “I am from a different HCDT and our area is operated by a different oil company. Fortunately for us they have paid us in full but they say that we cannot appropriate and spend until all the HCDTs are fully integrated across all the oil producing communities nationwide.

In his response, the Chief Executive of Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, described the Commission as the agency vested with the responsibility of implementing Chapter (3) of PIA which is dedicated to the host communities.

Komolafe, who was represented by Mr Sylvester Bighoro, pointed out that the Commission has been waiting for the implementation and operationalization of the HCDTs in line with the provisions of the PIA,2021 and the NUPHCR 2022 and has recorded some achievements.