Guyanese diaspora engaged on opportunities in oil and gas sector

Foreign Secretary, Robert Persaud is urging Guyanese in the Diaspora to take advantage of the opportunities available in the local oil and gas sector.

Persaud was speaking at an oil and gas seminar, on Thursday, hosted at the Herdmanston Lodge.

The foreign secretary emphasised the need for local participation, to maximise the benefits of these new and traditional sectors.

“These Guyanese, that possess one; skills, skills that are badly needed in Guyana; two capital; three, a lot of experience; four and very importantly, the networking in terms of their connection, in terms of their ability to engage multinational large companies that have reach in many parts of the world.

“Persons who have stood here, who have lived here, who have worked hard to make Guyana and take it to where it is today, but also, we see the diaspora augmenting, as enriching and being able to bring additional value in some areas to those persons’ businesses, individuals and their activities here in Guyana, so it is more complementary. So, while we talk about the diaspora as an integral part of the local content approach, it’s not to the disadvantage of persons or to take away opportunities.”

The seminar was aimed at creating linkages between government and local operators in the sector.

“We don’t only want Guyanese to be the cleaners or to be the handymen or to be the menial labourers, in this regard and say ‘hey that is local content,’ these are Guyanese we are employing. We want Guyanese to be in leadership positions as much as we also want them to be owners and operators of services or companies,” Persaud said.

The activity featured presentations from the Director of the Local Content Secretariat Martin Pertab and Chief Labour Officer, Daneshwar Deonarine and several entrepreneurs operating in the sector.

Pertab gave an overview of some of the strides that have been made since the passage of the Local Content Legislation Bill, which includes several mechanisms which enable the secretariat to engage stakeholders, to ensure that Guyanese benefit optimally.

This relates to employment, investment and training opportunities, procurement guidelines, and annual local content plan, among other areas of interest.

According to the Chief Labour Officer, a skills analysis will soon be conducted for the oil and gas sector and the value chain connected to that industry.