THE Private Sector Commission (PSC) on Friday engaged Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat and a team from the Ministry on Natural Resources, including the Local Content Secretariat.

The meeting, which was chaired by PSC Chairman Komal Singh, saw presentations from Chair of the PSC’s Local Content Sub-Committee Shyam Nokta, and other members of the Committee, which included representatives of the PSC Council.

According to a PSC press release, principal among the issues raised and discussed was the need to revisit and expand on the 40 areas in Schedule I of the Local Content Act that have been set aside for Guyanese suppliers of goods and services, in light of increasing capacity and investments by Guyanese businesses; the process and lengthy delays in receiving payments from some oil and gas companies; greater transparency in the procurement processes and the need for unbundling; more information and forecasting of the future needs of the oil and gas sector so as to guide local investments; among others.

The release said that Minister Bharrat underlined the joint approach and collaboration between government and the private sector on local content, which has led to the successes to date.

The minister confirmed government’s strong interest in seeing local content expand, and to examine all the areas put forward by the PSC.

It was agreed that the PSC’s Local Content Sub Committee and the Ministry’s Local Content Secretariat will meet monthly to discuss the issues facing the private sector, and also to come up with recommended actions to advance local content, the release said.

“The PSC wishes to commend the Government of Guyana for its firm stance on local content, and for enacting Local Content Legislation, which has facilitated, in a significant way, Guyanese participation in the oil-and-gas supply chain,” it added