RAMPS Logistics Guyana Inc., with parent company in Trinidad and Tobago, has been denied a local content certificate, the company’s Chairman, Shaun Rampersad, announced, as he bemoaned the decision of the legally mandated Local Content Secretariat.

Speaking to the media corps at a recent press conference at the local subsidiary’s New Market Street, Georgetown headquarters, Rampersad said the Local Content Secretariat provided no reason for the certificate denial.

The company, which was incorporated in 2013 in Guyana, is parented by RAMPS Logistics Limited out of Trinidad and Tobago. Some 51 per cent of the local company was sold to Trinidadian businessman, Deepak Lall, who, Rampersad said, has Guyanese parentage.

The sale of majority shares of the local logistics company came just after Guyana’s Parliament enacted its updated local content rules which are set to protect the interest of Guyanese and Guyanese companies in the growing local oil and gas sector.

Rampersad, speaking to reporters, said he was of the view that the company complied with specifics of the local content legislation. He added that the company felt that it went about the processes in the right way.

Following the passing of the local content law, RAMPS reportedly sold 51 per cent of the company’s shares to Lall who, Rampersad said, paid GY$210 million.

The goal, Rampersad continued, was to include someone from the Guyanese diaspora. Lall received his Guyanese passport in 2021, Rampersad claimed. The company’s chairman does not believe that Lall (the majority shareholder) acquired his passport as an act of convenience.

Rampersad maintained that his company, in adhering to local rules, submitted a local content plan to the authorities for consideration.

RAMPS’ chairman said the company will engage local authorities on the issue, adding that it will continue its operation here. The company’s top official hinted at possible court action.

At a recent press conference, Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, said that a number of businesses have tried to bypass the legislation. He said those businesses have tried to change the way they incorporate in an attempt to circumvent the provisions of the law.

The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), for its part, issued a statement on Thursday, underscoring the importance of respecting the local content law in a way that creates meaningful and genuine partnerships.

“The GCCI wishes to strongly repudiate any enterprise or citizen that seeks to exploit the local content framework by operating under the guise of local participation when this is not, in fact, the reality of the operation,” the chamber said.

It went on to note that this phenomenon, referred to as “fronting”, could reduce the benefits to Guyana and Guyanese from the burgeoning sector.

The GCCI further called on the Local Content Secretariat to “examine the beneficial ownership of enterprises seeking to obtain Local Content Certificates,” even as it encouraged the Secretariat to continue its thorough vetting of companies.