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President of Guyana Irfaan Ali. –
Guyanese President Mohamed Irfaan Ali said the country’s Local Content Act, an act that ensures companies involved in the energy sector give priority to Guyanese nationals and companies, is there to support everyone, including businesses trying to enter in the country’s oil and gas industry.
Ali said, in a media briefing held at the Diplomatic Center in Port of Spain, that the legislation, in pursuit of Guyanese interests, also provides an opportunity for the transfer of technology and technical skills that the Guyanese people may not necessarily have.
“The intent (of the act) is there and it is being used by many companies from Trinidad and Tobago and countries around the world,” he said. “Many global companies are coming.”
“It depends on how one might want to interpret something for a specific result. Let’s not do that. Let us look at the policy as a whole and understand what it aims to achieve.”
The Local Content Act also seeks to develop local capacity in the oil and gas industry, improve the oil and gas value chain, promote competition and encourage the creation of industries that would assist Guyana’s development. A total of 40 sectors were identified by act. These sectors include exploitation, pipe and sand blasting, food supply and administrative support, transport and customs brokerage.
In March, law firm TT Hamel-Smith and Co raised questions about whether the act would hinder the country’s ability to meet regional obligations, but on Thursday, Ali said Guyana should be able to handle its own affairs in these selected sectors. .
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“If someone comes to you and says that after all those years of independence you can’t provide brokerage services for yourself, or taxi service or car rental, then we have serious problems,” he said.
“What the local content legislation did is make a minimum determination for the capacity we have.”
Ali also said that in terms of finance, capital concentration is a major factor when deciding whether to allow asset sales. He made the statements in response to questions about Republic Bank’s 2019 bid to buy Scotiabank’s Guyana business, which was rejected amid concerns of a TT bank that had a monopoly in Guyana and held more than 50 percent of the deposit. of the country.
“In making a decision about how things move forward, you have to look at the concentration of capital,” he said. “In that concrete issue you are talking about, the Republic was the first bidder to make a proposal. Republika Bank is working with us on many other important initiatives.”
