GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) says it notes, “with consternation,” several “sham partnerships,” which it describes as an “emerging trend in the private sector and amongst the citizenry.”
The private sector group said that it has always maintained that local participation must be done in a manner that engenders meaningful and genuine partnerships and that “these faux ventures – referred to as ‘fronting’ or ‘rent-a-citizen’ – run counter to the spirit and intent of the Local Content Legislation (LCL).
“It has the potential to decimate ‘in-country value retention,’ which is one of the main objectives of the LCL. Such rent extraction creates problems for a country, including the inability to realize its full growth potential. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that we act as responsible stewards for Guyana’s development,” the GCCI added.
The private sector group said it would continue to be “intolerable of individuals and companies who “front” for circumvention of the LCL” without identifying any of those engaged in such activities.
But it said that it had taken note of private sector members who attempt to justify this practice and lobby for its normalization “as being complicit in this dangerous Act.
“As such, the GCCI encourages the Local Content Secretariat to continue its vetting of companies applying for a Local Content Certificate, or its renewal, thoroughly. As an organization, we will continue to support the efforts of the Local Content Secretariat to weed out this parasitic behavior which dampens the prospects for Guyana’s future,” the private sector group added.
In February last year, the Guyana government announced that it had operationalized its Local Content Registry as stipulated by the Local Content Act that came into effect in December 2021.
The legislation mandates the Local Content Secretariat to develop and maintain Local Content Registers of Guyanese nationals for employment; and Guyanese citizens and companies from which goods and services may be procured.
“The Local Content Act penalties for oil and gas companies and their sub-contractors who fail to meet the minimum targets of the legislation, as well as those who are in breach of the Act. These fines range from as low as five million dollars (One Guyana dollar=US$0.008 cents) million to as high as GUY$50 million,” according to a government statement.
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