THE Small Business Bureau (SBB) has announced that small businesses will get first preference for Government procurement once they have registered with the bureau.

According to the law, small businesses are entitled to 20 per cent of Government procurement so in an attempt to properly enforce the law, the bureau has created a registration and identification process for small businesses, said Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SBB, Dr. Lowell Porter during a recent press briefing.

“Soon we will issue an advertisement that will include a link that says ‘click here’ on it…when you do it you will follow the guidelines and get registered… for example information related to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) will be required…when done, once they meet the criteria they will get an ID,” he said.

Porter pointed out that for too long, micro and small businesses have been sidelined because of their larger competitors.

“Sometimes you have businesses in Berbice where there is a Government project and a business with the same expertise gets the contract…we are trying to change this,” he said, adding that bidding could be opened for just businesses in the area for the project.

Once the businesses get their identification card (ID) the possibility of getting the contract will increase because the bureau will be able to identify them as small businesses, said the CEO of SBB. He made it clear that with the ID, those businesses will get preferential treatment.