Guyana has immediate need for Oil & Gas local content legislation
Ian McDonald says “one of the most serious aspects of life today is the widening gap between talk and action” in his piece on disunity in yesterday’s Sunday Stabroek; the same can be said of Guyana’s Local Content Policy (LCP). So much effort has gone into making the policy document sound good and read well that it would seem the goal of finding ways for Guyanese to achieve maximum benefits from the oil and gas industry is forgotten.
A few basic principles which already exist in law can be enforced, to begin with, for example, no work permit can be issued to a foreigner when a suitably qualified local is available to fill the position. Companies are bypassing this by offering locals 90% less than they offer expats to do the same job. No system/ agency investigates work permit issues in-depth and locals continue to fill the lower tiers of the oil service industry. Similarly, oil and gas industry companies enjoy duty-free concessions but one must ask why ExxonMobil employees cannot use anything but expensive Toyota Land Cruiser/Prados to commute within Georgetown? There is no need for hinterland travel by Exxon employees. This is an excessive expense that is ultimately borne by the taxpayer. Lack of oversight of Exxon’s costrecoverable expenses before the money is spent is an unpardonable sin.
The logorrheic draft document relied heavily on cut and paste technology instead of thoughtful examination of the local situation. The LCP tries and fails badly to provide a comprehensive direction for all sectors of Guyana’s economy, it would be advisable to produce an oil and gas industry policy given the hyperpace of that business and the rapid growth in that sector. A general policy can be done later as needed. Guyana has an immediate need for Oil & Gas sector local content legislation; it need not be perfect and should be subject to periodic review and amendment as needed for Guyanese interests to be best served.
ExxonMobil has cleverly given itself cover from any claims by use of an endless series of third-party contracts, but the time has come to ask the oil giant why wages and salaries for oil and gas Guyanese workers have no immediate mechanism/structure for increases even though Exxon is benefitting from the service of said workers since 2015 through several tiers of contractors; has Exxon asked the tiered contractors who have already secured contracts with it as to their LC strategy and what is being done about same to reflect the diversity, fairness, and equality in remuneration for those doing similar jobs? We heard of Guyanese offshore (Liza Destiny) workers earning less than mini-bus conductors while the contractor that supplies the workers to Exxon is paid handsomely per worker. This situation still exists!!!
The Irfaan Ali administration had all the answers while seated on opposition benches and would do well to implement some of those solutions that require action and less talk.