Local Content Bill changing game passed

More than seven hours of debating and with a line-up of some 15 speakers, the National
Assembly on Wednesday passed the Local Content Bill (Bill no. 21 of 2021) with a few minor
amendments.
It was noted that Wednesday’s debate kicked off with the Natural Resources Minister, Vickram
Bharrat– the official who tabled the Bill in the National Assembly on December 15. Bharrat in
his opening presentation, told the sitting that this Bill is a “living document” that will transform
with the growth of Guyana’s human resource capacity. “We want to ensure that with this Bill,
Guyanese reap the benefits from the oil and gas sector. This bill will help us to truly assess our
capacity, as well as what is needed to build capacity in Guyana. As a government, we are
committed to working with every stakeholder, once there is seriousness in developing the oil and
gas sector,” the minister explained.
The Natural Resources Minister noted that during the debate, the major Opposition – the A
Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) – called on the Local
Content Bill to be sent to a Special Select Committee, instead of being passed as it was. In
responding to this, he aired the government’s distress over such a move being taken. “There is a
fear amongst us when it comes to Special Select Committees,” he said. “We saw the Petroleum
Commission Bill, the Animal Welfare Bill, the Food and Safety Bill and the Education Bill.
Where are these bills today? We don’t trust the opposition in sending anything to that
committee,” Minister Bharrat said.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, responded to members of the Opposition that
accused the government of attempting to have the Bill passed “in a hurry”. Dr. Singh said that it
needed to be done as quickly as possible so that Guyanese could no longer miss out on the
opportunities they should have had before first oil in 2019. “We want to get it into law in a hurry
because we want Guyanese landlords to be able to rent their accommodation. We want Guyanese
welders to be able to get welding business. We want Guyanese accounting firms to get
accounting business … So yes! We did it in a hurry,” the Finance Minister said. Additionally,
Minister Bharat reminded that this legislation will compel oil companies, their contractors and
subcontractors to do business with Guyanese. To see to this, the Bill outlines penalties for
companies which fail to meet the minimum targets of the legislation, as well as those that are in
breach. These fines range from as low as $5M to as high as $50M.
The minister pointed out that going forward, the government will continue to engage with all
stakeholders by means of consultations on how the document could be further strengthened. The
natural resource minister noted importantly, with the passing of this Bill, Guyanese and
Guyanese businesses stand to benefit from US$400M to US$500M annually in terms of revenue.
He added that the local private sector, the energy chamber and citizens have praised the
government for this mechanism needed to ensure that Guyanese see the benefits from the oil and
gas sector.