RSHA Pledges To Check Companies, Community Friction

The Rivers State House of Assembly says it was poised to check communities and companies friction by making laws that would enhance investment and encourage employment opportunities.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Community Development and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Matthew Dike gave the indication when he met with Companies Community Liaison Officers in the South-East Senatorial District, last Wednesday in Port Harcourt.
He decried the frequent agitation and violence in many part of the state between companies and their host communities as a result of poor relations.
“As an Assembly, we see liaison officers as key to the development of the state. Your role is to ensure that the companies operate in harmony with their host communities.
“It’s expected that while companies do business, they are expected to make profits, but if they are not allowed to operate it will be difficult for them to improve their host communities,” Dike stated.
The Tai Constituency lawmaker, however, lamented that most of the liaison officers do not meet expectation of their people and hence there was frequent friction between them and the companies.
He stressed the need for synergy to sustain development, assuring that the role of the Assembly was to protect the interest of the people as well as the companies.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of House Committee on Employment and Local Content, Hon. Dumle Maol has identified lack of enforcement and implementation of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as a major cause of heightened agitation and unrest in most communities.
He emphasized that the Assembly will soon begin to compel companies to abide by MoUs as that is key creating peaceful atmosphere between them and their host.