–as gov’t accepts 10 of 14 Opposition proposals

AFTER a year of consultations, the landmark Local Content Bill was finally passed in the National Assembly on Wednesday, with the government accepting 10 of the 14 amendments proposed by the main parliamentary opposition.

The proposed amendments, although submitted merely one day before the debate, were considered by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government to be fair and worthy of inclusion to the Bill.

“The natural resources of this country belong to the people of Guyana…if there are suggestions from any groups that will strengthen the Local Content Bill and will add to bringing more benefits for Guyanese, we are open to that,” Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, said in his passionate presentation during the almost seven-hour-long debate on the Bill.

He noted that while most of the proposed amendments were facilitated, there were some that the government “just could not agree with.” This included a recommendation that the local content stipulation must only be applied to persons born in Guyana.

The refusal to include this particular amendment was robustly defended by Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, who argued that because Guyana has a meagre population count in the vicinity of 750,000 persons, the country will soon have to re-examine its immigration policies to allow for an importation of the human resources needed to drive the country’s magnanimous growth.

To this end, he asserted that the country’s growth will accommodate the much-needed input of Guyanese residing in the diaspora.

Additionally, the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC), via its Member of Parliament, David Patterson, proposed that the inter-agency committee be replaced with a Local Content Oversight Committee. This recommendation was also accepted by the government, which agreed to replace the agency with a Local Content Advisory Committee.

The Opposition also recommended the addition of several agencies to be part of the committee; this too was agreed to, paving the way for a member of the National Toshao’s Council, the Guyana Bar Association and an Opposition Parliamentarian, to hold seats on the Committee.

“We are saying yes, we agree to it,” Minister Bharrat said, as he emphasised that the bottom-line of the Bill is to ensure that the oil and gas sector is able to optimally serve the people of Guyana.

“All of us in here, that should be our objective; regardless of where we sit,” Bharrat told his colleagues on the opposing side.

The minister reminded that the Local Content Legislation would not be set in stone, since the government has repeated that as more and more Guyanese are trained, the laws would be amended to guarantee increased employment and business opportunities for the people of Guyana.

As stipulated in the Local Content Bill, not only would a company have to have a Guyanese national owning 51 per cent of its shares to be considered a “local entity,” but the company’s management team also has to comprise seventy per cent Guyanese, while its overall staff complement has to also be ninety per cent Guyanese.

The Bill also requires the establishment of a Local Content Secretariat, which would be charged with setting up two registers — one comprising local businesses, and another outlining a list of Guyanese seeking employment within the petroleum sector.

The Opposition, on Tuesday, recommended that the registers be published on the Ministry of Natural Resources’ website and in the local press; this was also agreed to by the government.

Based on feedback from Guyanese within the oil and gas sector, the government also moved to table some additional amendments of its own.

EQUAL PAY
One of those changes seeks to ensure that Guyanese who possess the same skills and competencies as their foreign counterparts are paid equally.

“We have listened to the Guyanese workers in the sector and tabled that change,” Minister Bharrat noted.

The Bill outlines 40 sub-sectors which would legally require oil companies to procure goods and services as well as employ specific percentages of Guyanese in their day-to-day operations.

As the Bill was being debated in the House, the government even moved to increase some of the stipulated percentages in order to secure more opportunities for the people of Guyana.

For instance, up from 20 per cent, oil companies will be required to employ at least 90 per cent of Guyanese or Guyanese-owned companies to satisfy its accounting needs.

It will also have to ensure that 100 per cent of its insurance needs are met strictly by Guyanese and Guyanese-owned entities.

The similar percentage applies to the provision of ground transportation services, the provision of immigration support services, customs brokerage services, and visa and work permit services, etcetera.

The minimum local content requirements contained in the legislation relate to engineering and machining, which secures only a meagre five per cent of opportunities for Guyanese workers in that field, followed by metrology and dredging services at 10 per cent and aviation and borehole testing services at 20 per cent.

However, the government has made it clear that it will be collaborating with the private sector to embark on a massive training programme to ensure that more Guyanese are trained to fill the existing employment gaps.

CONSTANTLY UPDATED
Minister Bharrat has also reiterated the government’s assurance that the local content requirements will be constantly updated to accommodate the growing numbers of trained persons.

Further, foreign companies operating within the petroleum sector will be required to submit a master plan, containing three sub-plans that depict their employment practices, their procurement strategy, and their programmes to train and build capacity among their local workforce.

Once the Local Content Secretariat is established, those plans would have to be updated and submitted annually for review, after which it will be forwarded to the subject minister for approval.

This submission, according to Minister Bharrat, will help to inform the government of the needs of the petroleum industry, and what has to be done for Guyanese to capitalise on the majority of available opportunities.

“We want our local businesses to be competitive both in price and competence,” Minister Bharrat said.

He also admitted that crafting the legislation was not an easy task, given the newness of the petroleum sector.

“We can only know our capacity once we do a true assessment. This Bill will help us to truly assess our capacity in our businesses and what capacity building we have to do,” Bharrat posited.

In wrapping up the lengthy debate, Minister Bharrat responded to the Opposition’s call for the Bill to be placed before a Parliamentary Special Select Committee.

He sought to point out several pieces of legislation such as the Petroleum Commission Bill, the Animal Welfare Bill and the Food Safety legislation, among others that have been stalled at the level of such select committees.

“Where are these bills today?” Minister Bharrat queried. He surmised that the government cannot allow the “grass to keep growing while the horse starves.”

The Bill, which now has to be assented to by President Dr. Irfaan Ali, was deemed an excellent piece of legislation, which will benefit from continuous consultation and updates, going forward.