CHAIRMAN of Trade and Investment at the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Ramesh Dookhoo, on Tuesday urged Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) private sector not to be disrespectful to Guyana’s local content law.
Dookhoo made these remarks during the Guyana Manufacturing Services and Association Limited (GMSA) business luncheon where a group of Trinidadian business representatives were present.
While the PSC representative welcomed the business representatives from the twin island republic, he said Guyanese must be the prime beneficiaries of the country’s oil and gas sector.
He noted too that already some foreign companies have started to make moves and do manipulative things to qualify for the country’s local content register.
“So, I’d like you to take back the message to T&T, let us tell our companies not to encourage this,” he said.
However, he went on to say that the authority given to the Local Content Secretariat has to be deeper, contending that it must be associated with the Companies Act of Guyana and should have more authority to investigate companies.
Additionally, Dookhoo urged the private sector board of Trinidad and Tobago to advocate for support for Guyanese businesses.
“Let us stop throwing the rule book at everybody, let us sit down bilaterally and sort out some of these problems. Guess what, it hasn’t yielded any results. When the Trinidad private sector realise the trade barriers that are put up by Trinidad, for us trying to export to Trinidad, we will respect you more, we will embrace you tighter than we are doing right now,” he said.
