The House of Representatives has said the unending lawsuits concerning Host Communities’ Development Trust are undermining the benefits and purpose of the Petroleum Industry Act to the communities.
The House said the PIA, which came into effect in 2021, has changed the approach to host community development by moving the system away from informal arrangements and occasional corporate social responsibility projects to a structured legal framework.
The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Host Communities, Dumnamene Dekor, stated this at the ‘Sensitisation and Engagement Forum on Operationalisation of The Midstream Host Community Development Trusts’; organised by Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority in Port Harcourt.
Dekor explain that the PIA has empowered the communities to determine what they want (project wise) and not being given stipends as it may please the ‘settlors’ (companies).
“Under the Act, Host Community Development Trust is to be implemented through a formal Host Community Development Trust, supported by defined funding obligations, governance structures, needs assessments, development plans, and accountability mechanisms.
