By Olusegun Aribike
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) says its digital portal tracks Host Community Development Trust (HCDT) contributions and projects.
NMDPRA officials disclosed this at a virtual town hall organised by the Pipeline Professionals’ Association of Nigeria (PLAN) to examine HCDT administration under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Mrs Ngozi Asogwa, Manager, Host Community Affairs, NMDPRA, said the portal automatically calculated the three per cent contribution from operators’ annual operating expenditure.
“Once they upload their annual reports, it will contain the actual amount of operating expenditure of the last year and automatically figures out the three per cent,” she said.
Asogwa said the authority followed up on submitted reports to ensure that the figures were not manipulated, adding that manipulation attracted consequences.
Mr Ibrahim Biu, Senior Regulatory Officer, Host Communities Petitions and Dispute Resolutions Unit, NMDPRA, said the portal tracked operators’ three per cent annual operating expenditure contributions.
He said it also provided information on approved community projects and enabled host community members to submit anonymous petitions on issues concerning the administration of the trusts.
“We have a portal for feedback and petitions. This can only be done anonymously without us knowing who actually did it,” he said.
Biu said NMDPRA could investigate complaints and take action on corruption, fund mismanagement and other breaches involving HCDTs.
He said the authority could revoke the licences of operators that failed to incorporate the required host community structure.
He said NMDPRA also conducted monitoring and evaluation visits to verify the implementation of HCDT projects.
He said the authority reviewed operators’ financial records to verify the operating expenditure used to determine their three per cent contribution.
Biu said host community representatives on relevant HCDT structures were expected to provide feedback to their communities.
He said the HCDT framework differed from previous corporate social responsibility initiatives and global memoranda of understanding because the PIA established legally recognised structures and responsibilities.
Biu said community development plans must be based on needs assessments involving host communities.
He said the plans should cover areas such as education, healthcare, empowerment and environmental sustainability.
According to him, NMDPRA has mechanisms for monitoring projects and addressing grievances where approved projects are not implemented as required.
Mrs Ngozi Adeleke, President of PLAN, said the forum provided stakeholders with an opportunity to raise practical challenges and receive regulatory responses on HCDT administration.
She said the discussions would help stakeholders identify implementation gaps and work toward addressing them.
However, participants raised concerns about host communities’ access to information on operators’ contributions and the utilisation of HCDT funds.
Prince Joseph Okporu, a participant, said communities often lacked information on operators’ actual operating expenditure.
He said this made it difficult for communities to determine the amount payable into their trusts.
Okporu also raised concerns about communities’ access to reports on the status and returns from the 20 per cent reserve fund.
He called for regular town hall meetings where Boards of Trustees would present stewardship reports directly to host communities.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Grace Alegba
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