As contracts are awarded to foreign entities... PSC touts need for Local Content Legislation

As contracts are awarded to foreign entities… PSC touts need for Local Content Legislation

Oct 04, 2016 News

The awarding of substantial contracts to foreign companies is something that the Private Sector Commission (PSC) is worried about, especially when it relates to the utilisation of local content.
This was according to a Past President of the Commission, Ramesh Dookoo, yesterday at the Commission’s office in Waterloo Street, Georgetown.
Dookoo said that discussions were held on the issue with a few Ministers already in the past.
He added that the PSC has always been and will continue to lobby for some amount of local content to be placed in contracts that are being executed by overseas contractors especially.
He said that this matter first came up when the Marriott Hotel was being built. There was an outcry from the various Trade Unions at the lack of local employment.
“I believe that we do support our local private sector and we would want to say that wherever possible, contracts be awarded to them or at least be treated fairly.” He said.
Dookoo also made reference to other countries that have in place legislation.
“The way the rest of the world would handle that is to put in local content legislation. You can’t build a hotel in Barbados and buy the furniture from Timbuktu. The tender goes out to the local private sector in Barbados first and they have to say, I can’t supply it because of the price or whatever the criteria is,”
He added that the Commission has already met with several experts on local content who are here because of the pending oil industry. These experts, he said, were able to equip the PSC technically on local content.
Recently there have been some local contracts given or awarded to foreign companies/contractors, with the most recent the issue being the supply of stone for the execution of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Expansion Project from a Surinamese Company.
This particular issue has raised a few eyebrows with some suppliers saying that they have been sidelined. It was later revealed that local prices are too high. This resulted in the executing agent of the project – China Harbour and Engineering Company (CHEC) resorting to the Surinamese Company.
However, many still believe that this should be overlooked since the stone being produced locally is of a better quality.
The Ministry of Public Infrastructure and the Ministry of Business will be meeting with local suppliers shortly.
The contract for the supply of juice to students was also awarded to a foreign company while Guyana’s local juice company – Topco, of the Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) is looking on from the sidelines.

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