The Effect of Local Content Policy in the Oil and Gas Sector on Sustainable Community Growth in Uganda, a Case Study of Buliisa District

Abstract

The study evaluated the effect of local content policy in the oil and gas sector on sustainable community growth in Uganda using Buliisa district as the case study. The study was focused on three objectives namely, to determine the effect of using local labor; training programs; and sourcing of local goods and services in the oil and gas sector on sustainable community growth in Buliisa district. The study employed a case-study research design and 49 participants were selected using purposive and simple random sampling techniques. Data collection was done using key informant interviews and document reviews. The qualitative data findings were analyzed using thematic analysis and revealed that using local labor; local labor training programs; and sourcing of local goods and services in the oil and gas sector all affect sustainable community growth in Buliisa district. The study concluded that the more local content policy implementation in the oil and gas sector, the higher the sustainable community growth of Buliisa district. The study recommends that priority should be given to local labor when hiring, jobs should be given on merit and formal hiring procedures should be adopted by IOCs. Furthermore, vocational trainings in petroleum studies should be availed for local labor, research and development should be done locally to identify existent skill gaps, and trainings should be given to educators at various teaching institutions by IOCs. For sourcing of domestic goods and services, PAU should conduct periodic check to check for compliance of LCP, priority should be given to local companies to supply goods and services if they meet the standards and IOCs should examine market before calling for submission of bids by local companies.