Abstract

This paper communicates the development needs of communities within the oil and gas producing enclave in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region of Ghana. It deals with corporate-community relations within the broader framework of corporate social responsibility practices and how oil companies use development communication strategy to respond to the development needs of host communities.  An in-depth literature provides a solid framework to contextualize development communication from both vertical and horizontal approaches. The research questions deployed were: How does the discovery of oil and gas impact on development needs/projects of communities/District Assemblies? 2) What is the level of communication between District Assemblies and their development partners; 3) How are the development needs communicated to the development partners; and 4) What goes into the design, planning and execution of development programmes by Oil and Gas companies? The probability research method which utilized systematic random sampling technique produced data resulting in interesting findings. The key findings revealed that participatory development strategies are key determinants of development needs of the communities. The bottom-up approach is intertwined with a top-down approach within the participatory principles of communication and development paradigms.

Key Words: Oil and Gas, Communities, Communication, Development, Participation.

About the Author

*Wilberforce S. Dzisah, Ph.D., is a senior lecturer and the Head of the Department of Liberal Arts and Communication Studies, School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, Ghana. He is also the former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Journalism and a communications consultant.

^JCMR Journal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 15, No. 2, October 2023, pp. 74-85.

© Association of Media and Communication Researchers of Nigeria (AMCRON).

Article Citation

Dzisah, W. S. (2023). Communicating development of oil and gas in Ghana: The responsiveness of oil companies to development needs of communities. Journal of Communication and Media Research, 15 (2): 74-85.

Full Article

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