11/30/2024
Oil & Gas has Destroyed other Institutions and is Collapsing at Last.
Oil and Gas industry (in South Sudan) has confined a significant number of Manpower/Human Resources in its premises, thereby denying or draining other institutions of the needed skills and expertise. Medical doctors, university professors , clergymen, teachers, politicians, farmers, among many more have left their institutions for green pastures in the oil and gas. Where does this take? Only in South Sudan. Did you know?
There is probably nothing so wrong with this if there were job opportunities in the Oil & Gas sector where experiences and expertise of these people are required. The problem, however, is that there are limited positions assigned to the business partners. Other positions, referred to as direct hire positions, are usually created on a need basis, which if such needs aren’t there or cease to exist, these positions can be discarded and individuals occupying them can be dismissed/laid off. Unfortunately, this is not what goes on here. What South Sudanese have done is created redundant positions where inexperienced relatives, friends, political allies, and kinsmen are employed just to receive money.
Don’t you think this is a terrible mistake for an organization that wants to grow? I think it does and I believe any perceptive professionals would guess the negative impacts this brings to the industry. For instance, other than turning off the foreign investors in investing in the industry, just like Petronas was, this move also increases the cost of operating these companies and makes management so cumbersome, if not impossible. F**k!
Speaking about the difficulties in managing the teams, I believe those who have tried to manage a team in this industry have their own stance on the matter. But, there is one aspect we can all agree, which is, some of our people, if not the majority, do not accept their weaknesses or accept to be corrected. What do you think that makes them, if I may ask? Well, I think you already know the answers
This rather ignorant attitude has made some of the Managing Directors and Managers to isolate those who they think can outshine them or who will point out their mistakes. As the result of this, the Mister all-knowing, all- powerful, and the world genius is usually left to his devices to do what he pleases him. And one of the things he does would be to lie to the public about transforming this and that and building this and that.
Quite the opposite, it is ironic that these the never- corrected, numb-headed liars usually leave the Corporation and the companies in the worst conditions than they found them. Do you think the Managing Directors and the Managers are the only problem and the regular employees aren’t contributing ? You are damn wrong if your answer is yes. In fact, employees are a big pain in the butt in this industry! Some of the employees never see the interest of the company, let alone that of the nation. As a test, If you sit any of these employees down and try to converse with him/her about the importance of protecting national interests, he/she would ignorantly replies, “ we must eat because it is our time to do so..” You know what comes to mind when I hear this? I would be like, what the f**k are you are trying to eat or would you want to eat ? If our heroes, including our president, didn’t fight for our national interests and not be interested about eating at the time , what would you be “ eating” now?
The golden rule dictates that one must plant before one could reap the harvest and eat. Do we understand that?
The other difficulty part is, once these people are employed to positions, no Manager, no matter how powerful he/she is will dismiss them. An attempt to dismiss them would tatamount to that Manager being sacked. Do you think this is not true? If yes, let me give you an example. NILEPET, a supposedly National Corporation, has more than 2,000 employees. Some of these employees aren’t known where they are and others are potentially ghost names. Sad!
With these huge number of punverified employees, the Managing Directors, former and current, only struggle to pay salaries without asking who the employees are, their locations, and what they do. I believe if he ever questions this number or tries to layoff the unknowns or remove the ghost names, he will definitely have his balls smashed; I mean he will be sacked . Forgive my profanity and for forgetting that there is a lady deputy Managing Director at the moment, but what better way than to put it this way, given that I am so outraged?
Fellow countrymen, I am not trying to be funny here. In fact, I am crying deep inside me, seeing things falling apart for the industry that is supposedly the pumping heart to our nation. It is unfortunate that we have, at last, managed to bring the industry to its knees and it is something some of us expected anyways. Indeed, we complained time and again, but all our complaints fell on deaf ears as they were considered useless and distracting to the “ eating spree” that is going on.
How then did we killed the goose? Or should I say how did we bring the goose to the hospital and to its death bed because it is still kicking anyway? Well, I just explained one of the ways we did it and there are many other ways you can think of if you are onboard this industry.
Instead of empowering local contractors that are owned by NIlEPET so that we generate money to the nation, the Managers who NILEPET tasked to protect the interests of NILEPET have turned their backs on NILEPET by creating their own companies to which they channel contracts to them, leaving the subsidiaries of NILEPET to struggle to survive.. To these days, some of the NILEPET subsidiaries cannot pay for their salaries and their mother ( NILEPET) has to extend its feeding breast to them by paying salaries and expenses on their behalf. What a shame!
Realistically speaking though, where elsewhere would they go? Accounts have run dry and Managers or Presidents can’t lift off their asses on the chairs to find contracts? Literally, these subsidiaries are financially dead ( bankrupt) and should be dissolved.
Can the Managing Director do this, though? I doubt that. Maybe he can, only that it would take a strong and patriotic risk-taker who would tighten his belt, holds his balls, and steps in the fire ( hell) What an hero and a man he would be and what a noble thing to do.
Guess what else the Managers and Presidents of these subsidiaries have done? In spite of them struggling to pay salaries and depending on NILEPET for everything including their toolet papers, they have continued to recruit more and more employees. Come on! What are these people made of and have they got a cow-dung of a brain? I would imagine that men from the villages would do better if given an opportunity? Why? Because they marry after counting their heads of cattle.
NILEPET, too, is not keeping its hands tied. Despite knowing that their resources are limited and has difficulties paying the staff, NILEPET also has continued to recruit new employees. To do what? I honestly do not know? Do you know? Perhaps, your educated guesses can give you some answers, but let me shed light on this seemingly unstoppable virus. As you know, recruitment in our country and in oil and gas in particular, is not based on a need base, rather it is purely on appeasement and protecting one’s ass. People are employed because the Managers, including the Managing Director, recruit new employees just to protect their positions; not what the corporation or company needs. Sad!
This has been the case for each and every Managing Director that has ever been appointed . Now think about the number of people employed with number of Managing Directions appointed and relieved? So many, and that has caused overstaffing!
Now, let me say something about how other institutions have been destroyed. Other than the exodus of Manpower to the oil and gas industry, the money which was supposed to have been used to develop other institutions has been spent paying unproductive Manpower and for bribing politicians for one to maintain the position. This unproductive manpower has also used the money to pay for short services from the Slay Queens and transnational s*x workers. Can you think of other industries which have destroyed? I guess there is plenty of them.
If your wholly or partially agree to these observations, Let’s then work to revive the dying industry and let’s strengthen other industries before it is too late because time is not our side.
By a concerned citizen.
