Local content is not Ads, publications, catering and taxi services

Jun 06, 2018 News

By Kiana Wilburg
On Monday, Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo called for the Government to publish the list of 309 companies ExxonMobil said it used last year to support its operations.

Int’l Local Content Expert, Renee Tissot

Instead, the Government released, yesterday, a list of what it said were registered companies used by the oil giant for the first quarter of 2018.
That list includes Kaieteur News, Stabroek News, Guyana Times, Camex Restaurant Limited, K’s Restaurant, Maggie’s Snackette and Catering, Palm Court Restaurant and Bar, Pegasus Hotel among others.
But International Local Content Expert, Rene Tissot told Kaieteur News last night that “ads in newspapers and catering and hotel services are low hanging fruits…”
Tissot said it is important for Governments to understand the difference between local content and spending that benefits the local economy.
“If an oil company wants to do advertising for jobs or advertise something about its local branch in Guyana, then it has to utilize the media in that country. You don’t expect them to put the advertisements in the New York Times.”
Also, there are some services such as those provided by hotels and restaurants that they just don’t have a choice but to use.
“This is money they would have spent anyway and it benefits the local economy. But please, this is not local content.”
Tissot added, “Local Content on the other hand, goes much deeper than this. The heart of Local Content speaks to the development of local skills, the transfer and use of technology, the expansion of local manpower and the growth of local manufacturing.
“Local Content looks at the ‘value’ of the investment into these areas to such a degree that it is lasting. Local Content promotes industrialization…”
The Local Content Expert said, “The depth of the investment and/or the value of the investment are crucial when referring to something as local content.”
The International Advisor also said that a list with restaurants, hotels and media houses would be best described as “shallow in terms of value creation.”
He said, “I would be disappointed to look back 15 years from now and see that local content in Guyana refers to ads in newspapers, catering services etc.”

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