Playing field in oil and gas sector is not level

Dear Editor,

The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce (GCCI) received a third draft of a local content policy a number of weeks ago and was asked to comment. In addition to that, we were invited to a small stakeholder forum to discuss that same policy. The GCCI immediately recognised that such an important document needed wider discussions and views and as such quickly organised and held a Local Content Forum. Out of that Forum we have summarised the points of views and also taken some additional view points from our membership and prepared what we call ` The GCCI’s Comments on the Third Draft of a Local Content Policy for Guyana.’ We hope that the editors of the media houses would give us space in their mediums to show the policy and our comments.

The Trinidad and Tobago Energy Chamber’s Safety Forum, as well as our Government’s preceding outreach to Trinidad has one very interesting commonality: The local Private Sector was left out. This commonality resulted in a backlash from both events as headlines talking about a sellout abounded. Trinidad and Guyana have a long history together, but given what is before us, one can expect both countries’ private sectors to be vying to profit from extraction of Guyana’s newly found oil. Let me give a personal example, I have a services company set up to provide services to the oil and gas sector, my partners are Trinidadian, and I have seen representatives from one of the largest Trinidadian hardware stores here on the ground looking to invest and out-compete me. I think this is the best example of how nonblack and white, and how grey this relationship is. In order to strengthen the relationship and not damage it further, formal policies need to be put in place such as a local content policy and subsequent legislation, policies around investment promotion and strengthening of local businesses. We must welcome investment by our CARICOM brothers and sisters, and I encourage competition; but on a level playing field. Right now, the playing field is not level, Trinidad businesses can access larger sums of capital at lower rates therefore they can pay higher prices for assets as they have a lower hurdle rate. If our government doesn’t learn economics 101 quickly, they’ll soon have to collect their taxes from Port of Spain because of issues like

transfer pricing and lack of a multiplier effect for the dollars leaked out of the Guyanese economy.

We need to work together to encourage investment by Trinidad in a manner that benefits Trinidadian and Guyanese firms, especially the Trinidadian firms who set up more than a shell office with the address of the lawyer that incorporated, and the firms who hire and train local Guyanese and don’t repatriate all or most of the profits but instead reinvest it here. How will we know those firms? They will not be the ones entering through the back door, they will come to the front door and shake hands with the local private sector. Yours faithfully,

Nicholas Deygoo-Boyer President Georgetown Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI)