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‘Policing of Local Content Legislation crucial’
…GCCI President says Commission must get power to apply penalties on errant oil companies
Kaieteur News – A robust Local Content legislation or policy means nothing if the right mechanisms are not in place to ensure the provisions in these documents are obeyed by oil companies and their subcontractors.
This is essentially the position of President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Mr. Timothy Tucker. During a recent interview on Kaieteur Radios programme, Guyanas Oil and You alongside his colleague, GCCI Executive Member, Richard Rambarran, Tucker categorically stated that there needs to be a Local Content Commission in place to ensure the oil sector gets rigid oversight. He said too that there must be penalties in place for those who fail to be compliant.
President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Mr. Timothy Tucker
The GCCI President said, “There has to be an oversight body to make sure that those who are operating within the sector, they are doing what the legislation says they should be doing. That body will or should ensure companies are reaching their local content targets, they are employing Guyanese, they are procuring locally, and they’re engaging Guyanese…”
Tucker further advocated that a Local Content Commission will be crucial to ensuring transparency in the industry as that it would or should be mandated to analyse data from the companies and provide reports on their performance.
He said, “So that will by itself, guide the industry. We will know where we don’t have capacity, we will know where we have capacity and we can adjust the targets to suit what we have and what we don’t have…”
Tucker was also keen to note that GCCIs calls for a robust regulatory body was reignited in recent months following complaints from several members that they are being sidelined for the provision of non-technical services that include trucking, customs brokerage, logistics, recruitment, etc.
He said, too, that some complaints noted a lack of awareness regarding key oil sector opportunities for employment and procurement. Tucker said GCCI is of the firm conviction that most if not all procurement should be done in-country and if it is found that the requisite services cannot be provided, only then should outside sources be sought.
His colleague, Richard Rambarran also shared similar sentiments. He said, “In a general sense, what the Chamber of Commerce has been receiving from its membership is a degree of frustration in the local private sector regarding access to the industry and participation in the industry, whether it is on the front of a technical matter or whether it’s on the front of a commercial obstruction…”
Rambarran noted that there are several hurdles, which businesses have to overcome such as the absence of information on key opportunities. He said this puts locals on the backend when they have to compete against experienced companies with established networks, linkages, and prior supplier arrangements. ”If you put yourself in the average Guyanese business person’s shoes, you would realise that there is a high degree of frustration that would emanate as a result of this,” expressed the GCCI Executive member. While the draft Local Content Law has not been released for public perusal, Kaieteur News has reported that the government is fine tuning the document with the help of experts from Ghana. The bill is scheduled to be laid and debated in the National Assembly before year end.
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