Local Content Secretariat proposed in “historic” legislation

In the hallmark Local Content Legislation tabled in the National Assembly on Thursday, the Government has proposed that a Local Content Secretariat be established. This Secretariat, the Bill indicates, will be established within the Ministry of Natural Resources and shall consist of a director and other members, appointed by the Minister of Natural Resources.

The functions of the Secretariat, will be to develop and maintain measures for the effective implementation of local content by contractors, sub-contractors and licences; develop and implement of strategies that will give preference to or ensure equal treatment of Guyanese nationals and companies; conduct market analysis; make recommendations to the minister; develop formats for local content plans and reporting; develop guidelines, including those for local content reporting, procurement, big evaluation, training, research and development, partnership and joint ventures, and financial and insurance services.

In addition, the secretariat will be tasked with developing and maintaining a Local Content Register of qualified Guyanese nationals and their companies; recommending for approval or refusal, local content master plans and local content annual plans and proposals for modifications to the master and annual plans; develop auditing procedures and conducting regular audits for the purposes of monitoring and ensuring compliance with this legislation; measuring and reporting on the local content performance of contractors, sub-contractors or licencees.

Also, the body will undertake public education and awareness campaigns and reporting to the minister on the performance of its functions and the general administration of the legislation.

On the eve of the tabling of the “historic Bill”, Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat said the legislation was arrived at after extensive consultations with civil society, the private sector, as well as the oil and gas companies operating in Guyana.

“This legislation is a way of moving our developmental agenda forward,” Minister Bharrat said, “We believe that Guyanese must benefit from this new sector. We might not have the knowledge and requisite skills now but I am sure that in years to come and with the programmes that the government is putting in place, both in the human resource capacity as well as the capacity in our local private sector to ensure that they place a meaningful role in the oil and gas sector and bring true benefits to Guyanese and Guyanese businesses.”

The Bill lays out 40 services that oil companies and 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 schedule.

“We’re saying by the end of 2022, 75% of your food items should be purchased locally so that the farmers at Black Bush Polder, their food can go on the floating production storage and offloading vessel. Our provisions and our meat can make it out there on the FPSO. That is creating opportunities for poultry, cash crop farmers – everyone in the agriculture sector, as well as the others to benefit from the oil and gas sector,” the Natural Resources Minister articulated.

This Bill which looks to give Guyanese first preference and knowledge sharing in the oil and gas sector is still to be debated in the National Assembly. The Government has committed to ensuring that it is passed and made into law before 2022.  

The Bill to amend the Natural Resources Fund (NRF) was also tabled in the National Assembly on Thursday too. These amendments lend way for the more prudent, transparent and accountable management of this oil fund.