Local Content Bill is a “bill with a difference” – President Ali

-reminds multinational businesses to recognise its importance

As the government gears up to present its Local Content Bill in the National Assembly on Thursday, His Excellency, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali touted its importance to foreign investors, when he addressed key players in the Oil and Gas industry.

During the opening of SBM Offshore’s corporate office on Sheriff Street, Georgetown, Wednesday, the President reminded the foreign business community that the Bill will transform Guyana’s economy in an extremely significant way.

“I want us to be conscious of the realities, I want us to be conscious of the opportunities and I am proud of the product that would be a catalytical, directional, legislative push for the forward involvement of Guyanese,” the President said.

The Bill is wholesome, and covers a wide range of issues that can now be protected through the enactment of the legislation, he said.

“The [local content] document is a…living document that will be transitional and transactional. It’s a Bill with a difference. The local content bill also addresses transactional issues and transitional issues, so it took great…dynamism and effort, and a conscious approach by the private sector, the government and other stakeholders,” he explained.

The local content policy drafted by the government has been in a lengthy and overarching consultative process, that saw suggestions from all components of civil society.

President Ali reminded that due to the government’s primary stance on inclusive governance and consultation, the drafting of the bill was something that could not have been done overnight.

“[The bill] does not come as a starting point. It comes with some amount of experience…this has been a painstaking, difficult, hard room to have been in… [we] have developed something that…would allow us to evaluate and built in that Bill itself,” President Ali highlighted.

The Local Content Bill would mandate a near takeover of oil operations by local goods and services in just 10 years.

The draft bill contains multiple tables, outlining the percentage of local penetration necessary in the beginning, after three years, after five years, after seven years, and after 10 years.

In employment, the proposed legislation sets out the percentage of posts at different levels, which should be given to Guyanese from the exploration of oil to the sale and distribution of value-added by-products.

According to the Bill, a company’s production jobs should be 10 per cent Guyanese from the beginning of its agreement and should move to 45 per cent at the 10-year interval.

Guyanese are also to be given all positions involving unskilled work from the inception.