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{
    "id": 788999,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/788999/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 253,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Osotsi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13172,
        "legal_name": "Godfrey Osotsi",
        "slug": "godfrey-osotsi"
    },
    "content": "In any case, I remember some time back this Government was engaged in an exercise to merge various parastatals for effective management and to reduce cost. However, it now seems we are again engaging in an exercise to create many parastatal organisations. That will be a strain on our economy. Countries in Africa such as Rwanda have adopted a regime of having one regulator and that model has been assessed to be successful. The model of petroleum having a separate regulator from other forms of energy has been tried in Uganda. I advise the Committee to seek information from Uganda. There are challenges because upstream petroleum is regulated differently from other energy resources. It would be important for the Committee to seek information on how this can be done. This Bill refers to the Energy and Petroleum Tribunal. There is a typo in the definition because it refers to the Energy Act, 2006. The Bill that we are about to discuss in the Committee of the whole House is the Energy Bill, 2017, but in the definition of the Petroleum (Exploration, Development and Production) Bill, it makes reference to the Energy Act, 2006. It is important for the Committee to note that. Secondly, Part II of this Bill, just like the Energy Bill, says that the Cabinet Secretary in charge will develop and publish some policies or plans - in this case, what we call the Upstream Petroleum Strategy Plan. The model adopted for the Energy Bill and the Petroleum (Exploration, Development and Production) Bill is laudable but it does not give mechanisms of overseeing what the Cabinet Secretary publishes. The Committee should consider amending that section so that the Cabinet Secretary does not just publish but is also accountable for what he publishes. It is easy to publish anything, but accountability is very important. Hon. Deputy Speaker, a section of this Bill talks about training fund. This is important because it will help this country develop the appropriate human resource on matters of upstream petroleum. From the Nigerian experience, this is very important. One of the challenges being faced in Nigeria is that most of the human resources who are involved in the management of petroleum are largely foreigners. If we have a mechanism in which we can develop our own local capacity through training, it is laudable. This Bill also talks about sharing of revenue, which is important. My colleagues have said that the revenue share for the county and the community should be looked into. If you say that counties will receive 20 per cent of the Government share and that 20 per cent should not exceed what is allocated by the national Government, then you are reducing effectively what is equitably due to the county. There is also the issue of the local community. We need to reconsider the definition of the local community. It limits the local community to a sub-county. The resource may be in a particular sub-county, but it is surrounded by other sub-counties which will be affected The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}