Govt launches local content register

Feb 24, 2022 News

– Website opens door for Guyanese businesses, individuals to gain easier access to oil and gas sector

Kaieteur News – In keeping with the new stipulations occasioned by the local content law, the Government of Guyana has launched a register for local businesses and professionals to advertise their goods and services.

Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat

The new Local Content law provides for the establishment of a Local Content Secretariat that will develop and maintain a Local Content Register of Guyanese nationals for employment and Guyanese companies from which goods and services may be procured. The law also outlines a schedule that sets out targets of benefits for Guyanese in 40 key sectors to be implemented by the end of 2022. The creation of the register is set to open the door for Guyanese businesses and individuals looking to gain easier access to the oil and gas sector.
Individuals and companies who fall in these two categories are urged to register on a website which was launched on Tuesday under the Ministry of Natural Resources which houses the office of the Local Content Secretariat. This comes some two week after the National Assembly approved $20 million for the implementation of the Local Content Secretariat as well as the local content register.
The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government has signalled its intention to commence the creation of the Local Content Registers following the passage of the game-changing Local Content Bill in the National Assembly last year.
These two registers, as stated in the law, will deal specifically with the procurement of goods, and secondly, the provision of skills and employment. Minister
Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, noted that the “The [Act] will require Guyanese to register with the Local Content Secretariat at the Ministry of Natural Resources.”
He explained that continuous consultation will pave the way for the government to expand the list of services that are outlined in the first schedule of the Local Content Act. For instance, the oil and gas companies operating in Guyana, as well as their contractors and sub-contractors must procure from Guyanese companies by the end of 2022, 90% of office space rental and accommodation services; 90% janitorial services, laundry and catering services; 95% pest control services; 100% local insurance services; 75% local supply of food; and 90% local accounting services. These are just some of the 40 different services outlined in the first schedule. “A true assessment of our capabilities will have to be done overtime, and the implementation of this Act will aid in this… We need a strong Local Content Act in place to ensure that benefits trickle down to every single Guyanese, regardless of if you are a farmer, regardless if you are a welder, mechanic, in the catering business or the waste disposal business – everyone should benefit from the oil and gas sector and the opportunities that arise from this sector,” Bharrat said.
Local businesses and professionals can now register at https://lcregister.petroleum.gov.gy/.

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