‘Each business can earn US$5M annually with passing of Local Content Bill’ – VP Dr. Jagdeo
Mikaila Prince – GIS
24 December 2021
With the passing of the Local Content Bill, Guyanese businesses can earn up to US$5 million annually from the business opportunities in Guyana. Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo announced this is a virtual interview on Friday.
“We are very excited about this,” Dr. Jagdeo expressed. “We have also carved out a significant percentage of services for exclusively Guyanese businesses. It represents US$4-US$5M per business, annually coming our way for our people.”
The Vice President stated too, that the Bill, which was tabled in the National Assembly last week, will “radically transform” the transparency surrounding the procurement of goods and services by oil and gas companies and their sub-contractors.
“We had promised to change the environment radically for the locals in the oil and gas industry through local content legislation. We have had one year of extensive work; trying to balance interests; to ensure that the industry remains competitive, but that an increasing number of opportunities will come our way. The local content legislation is a seminal piece of legislation… Once the law is passed, I ask people to make full use of these opportunities. Dr. Jagdeo articulated in his interview.
This legislation, he added too, will require oil and gas companies and their sub -contractors, the obligation of submitting to the Government, a Local Content Master Plan to span across five years. These companies will also be mandated to submit and seek approval for an Annual Local Content Plan.
“In those plans, there will be three sub-components,” the Vice President outlined, “one to deal with the capacity building of Guyanese; another to do with the employment of Guyanese and the third to deal with procurement opportunities for Guyanese. Those plans will also be published so that there would be increased transparency for that.”
The Local Content Bill lays out 40 services that oil companies and their sub-contractors must procure from Guyanese companies and Guyanese nationals by the end of 2022. For instance, by the end of the upcoming year, Guyanese should provide 90% of office space rental and accommodation services; 90% for janitorial, laundry, catering services; 95% pest control services; 25% medical services; 20% aviation and support services and 75% local food supply. These are just a few of the services highlighted in the first schedule of the document.
As part of the Local Content Bill, the government is also proposing the establishment of two Local Content Registers, said to be developed and maintained by the Local Content Secretariat. These registers will comprise Guyanese for employment and Guyanese nationals and Guyanese companies from which goods and services may be procured. This Bill will be debated in the National Assembly on December 29, 2021. The government has committed to ensuring that it is passed and made into law before 2022.
