–MP Datadin reaffirms any challenge to the Local Content Act will be strongly opposed

GUYANA can explore entering a reservation, or opting out of the relevant part of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC), in addition to considering the possibility of a complete withdrawal if regional entities challenge the implementation of its Local Content Act (2021) as a violation of the RTC.

This is according to Government Member of Parliament (MP) Sanjeev Datadin, who emphasised that any challenge to the implementation of Guyana’s Local Content Act (LCA) will be met with determined resolve from the government and the people of Guyana.

Datadin, who was at the time responding to a recent article published on trinidadlaw.com which, once again, questions the validity of Guyana’s LCA, noted that the government has at its disposal established principles of treaty law.

“The arguments made in the shadows about CARICOM, and posted in the open on Sunday ignore the reality of treaty law. Every Member State can issue a reservation and, or, opt out of treaty obligations at its discretion,” Datadin posited.

Datadin noted that from his interactions with senior functionaries in the government, there is a quiet but firm resolve on the issue, and Guyana will assert sovereignty and right to choose in the coming days and, “likely, if necessary, adjust her treaty obligations to remove any possible conflict, real or perceived”.

“Those who seek to challenge the LCA in Court do so at their own peril; they would be underestimating or not understanding the sentiment across Guyana on this issue, across all ethnic, cultural, class and political lines. There is a quiet but firm resolve on the issue; a resolve so strong that a treaty reservation/opt out, or even a withdrawal are all possible,” Datadin said.

Datadin pointed to The Bahamas having taken itself out of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and restricting the free movement of CARICOM nationals, while Antigua and Barbuda and St. Kitts and Nevis opted out of the free movement of skilled labour (security guards and agricultural workers) in 2019.

Giving another example, he also noted that most of the RTC signatories have still not accepted the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as their final Appellate Court, preferring, instead, the Privy Council, which is based in the United Kingdom.

“The reality is that Guyana can enter a reservation to the relevant part of the RTC and, or, opt out, depending on the prevailing circumstances. This may be sought for a period of years deemed sufficient for the Guyanese sector to mature, and be able to compete with foreign businesses,” Datadin, who is a lawyer by profession, said.

After a year of consultations, Guyana’s landmark Local Content Bill was finally passed in the National Assembly last December, with President Irfaan Ali assenting to the LCA on December 31, 2021.

MAXIMUM BENEFITS
The LCA paves the way for ensuring that Guyanese gain equal opportunities and access in the oil-and-gas industry, and to ensure maximum benefits for Guyanese businesses, with preferential mandates.

However, a few weeks after the LCA went into law, a leaked email from the Caribbean Private Sector Organisation (CPSO) alleged that the legislation violates the RTC, and noted the CPSO’s intention to raise concerns with the Guyana government and, ultimately, CARICOM.

The response from Guyanese was swift, with several members of Guyana’s business community voicing their outrage.

Datadin, on Tuesday, established that it is the fair and right thing to do to allow Guyanese to benefit from their oil resources in a preferential manner, and though CARICOM neighbours are welcome, this cannot be at the expense or marginalisation of Guyanese nationals and companies.

“The writer of that article ignored, entirely, the mood and sentiment of the Guyanese people, and the resolve of the Government of Guyana on this issue. It was ignored that the people of Guyana are firm that they must benefit more than tangentially, or on the fringes; their benefit must be real and substantial. This involvement is seen as the path to lift an entire nation from a poor developing nation to a prosperous nation,” Datadin said.

Datadin noted that much of the contention against Guyana’s LCA continues to come largely from Trinidad businesses.

“The sense of entitlement was un-surprising in the article. The implied portrayal of Guyana’s oil resources as CARICOM’s oil resource (as opposed to Guyana’s) was most significant and interesting,” he said.

Datadin reminded that prior to Guyana’s discovery of oil in 2015, there was little interest in regional businesses to invest in Guyana.

“No one seemed interested in investing in Guyana before the discovery of oil in 2015; Guyana’s treatment as a ‘poor, distant relative’ was well entrenched. I would not go into detail about the infamous treatment of Guyanese nationals at regional airports; that’s for another day, perhaps,” he said.