Return and serve, invest in Guyana
Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat during his address in Canada
Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat during his address in Canada

–Minister Bharrat urges Guyanese living in Canada

By Frederick Halley
GUYANA’S Natural Resources Minister, Vickram Bharrat has urged Guyanese in Canada to return home and serve their country, and gave them the firm reassurance that blackouts will be a thing of the past by the end of 2024.

Addressing overseas-based Guyanese at a ‘meet and greet’ organised by the Guyana Consulate in Toronto, Canada last Wednesday evening, Minister Bharrat said the Government of Guyana recognises the challenges faced by Guyanese, and “We cannot continue business as usual.”

Towards this end, the contract for a new power plant will be signed shortly, and construction will commence before the end of 2022, at the site of the Wales Sugar Estate.

Describing the venture as the Gas-to-Energy Project, Minister Bharrat said it entails running 12-inch pipelines off-shore for 100 miles from the vicinity of the Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown. It will be fueled by natural gas, supplied through Exxon Mobil.

Once completed, “It will make electricity far cheaper. As a matter of fact, it will cut our electricity cost by some 50 per cent by the end of 2024,” the minister boasted.

According to Minister Bharrat, “This is not a pipe dream; it’s a project that has already started, and the contract will be awarded to the company to start building the power plant.”

Minister Bharrat pointed out that “it will be reliable, meaning that blackout will be a thing of the past. It will be cleaner, and it will curb our emissions significantly.”

He reminded the audience that Guyana’s emissions are below net zero, “and we are cutting it even further, despite being an oil producer”.

“As a country, we need to move towards value-added and manufacturing. We have the resources, but one of the biggest hindrances has been power generation, and it has always been one of our biggest challenges, not only the cost of electricity but also the reliability. We are probably paying the highest rate for electricity in this hemisphere.”

Minster Bharrat said Guyanese should be proud of their country and be supportive of what the present government is doing to change Guyana.

“This project will obviously reduce the cost of living, and raise the standard of living. It’s our time; we have one of the largest oil discoveries in the world, with only Uganda ahead of us in the last 10 years. The government has answered the call and it’s your time to answer the call,” Minister Bharrat said.

Part of the audience at last Wednesday’s ‘meet and greet’ in Toronto, Canada

TRAINING
Another project that will also be implemented shortly is the establishment of the Guyana Technical Training Institute, where young Guyanese will be trained to work in the oil-and-gas sector.

“The Port Mourant Training Centre will be converted, and part of it will be the Oil and Gas Institute. Our people, especially young people, need to be part of the oil-and-gas sector. Having said that, almost 4,000 Guyanese are currently employed in the sector,” Minister Bharrat said.

According to the minister, with the amount of wealth coming Guyana’s way in another few years, “we will ensure that we manage the oil-and-gas sector in a manner that every single Guyanese will benefit, regardless of what differences exist among us. We are going to manage the sector in such a way as to ensure that every single Guyanese, regardless of who you vote for.

“As a government, we govern for all Guyanese. If you govern for one section of the population, then you are in the wrong business, because any political party’s main business is to win people over to you; so, the more services you can provide to everybody, the better.”

The minister explained that with oil and gas, there are many opportunities, hence, the recent passing of the Local Content Legislation (LCL). “The LCL was designed specifically to benefit Guyanese, because we cannot have oil companies coming to Guyana and reaping our resources and Guyanese not benefiting. And that was happening in the oil and gas sector,” he said.

FOR GUYANESE
Minister Bharrat emphasised that the government’s policy is to develop Guyana for all Guyanese and the Local Content Legislation will ensure opportunities come to Guyanese.

The Local Content Legislation, the minister pointed out, forces oil vessels that operate within Guyana to come to Georgetown to purchase groceries, welding, fabrication, catering and disposable, among other items instead of going to Trinidad and Tobago as was done prior to it becoming into law.

The law stipulates that foreign companies in the sector are required to buy 75 per cent of these types of goods from Guyanese suppliers.

“The law therefore creates lots of opportunities for our people, businesses to be established in Guyana and to provide services and although not being part of the oil and gas sector, you are a service provider.”

Urging Guyanese to return home, Minister Bharrat alluded to the fact that the labour force is once of the biggest challenges facing Guyana since the population is less than a million people.

“At the rate at which things are happening and the oil and gas companies taking up most of the skilled workers, this is creating problems with the other sectors. We want people to come back and start their own private businesses. There are so many opportunities to invest in the other sectors,” he said.

The minister stressed that while most people look at Guyana as an oil producing nation, there are many opportunities to develop and invest in the other sectors, especially agriculture.

“We are trying to build back agriculture to where it should be. It is said that Guyana is the bread basket of the Caribbean, but have we ever realised that? I think now is the opportune time.

“We are blessed, we have land, we have skill set, we have people with experience. I am sure you see that our President is leading from the front in Caricom and his vision is 25 by 2025. It simply means cutting our importation bill for food by 25 per cent by the year 2025. It is ambitious but it is doable once you work towards it.”

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