Ramps anticipating smooth handover of local content certificate

With the possibility of an extension of its current contract to provide freight forwarding and supply chain management services to ExxonMobil Guyana, Ramps Logistics Guyana is anticipating a smooth handing over of its local content certificate today.

Chief Executive Officer Shaun Rampersad recently told this newspaper that they have been speaking with their client to find a solution and have been in negotiation for a possible extension of the current contract.

Friday’s High Court win against the Local Content Secretariat, which had denied the company its certification now places Ramps in a better position to win a new contract from ExxonMobil Guyana.

Acting Chief Justice Roxane George SC on Friday ordered Head of the Local Content Secretariat Martin Pertab to ensure that the Company is issued its Certificate of Registration no later than noon today.

Ramps, whose parent company is Trinidadian, moved to the Court for judicial review seeking a number of declarations, among them that the decision of the Minister of Natural Resources and/or the Secretariat made four months ago—on June 8th—refusing to grant the certification was unlawful.

Ramps Guyana which considers itself a Guyanese company since it is registered here and has been in existence since 2013, argued that it was entitled to be issued a certificate of registration and to be entered into the Local Content Register in accordance with Section 6 of the Local Content Act.

In her ruling, the CJ found that Ramps Logistics had satisfied every requirement of the Local Content Act and made the order for the company to be granted certification. In the ruling, Justice George warned Pertab that failure to do so could result in him being held in contempt of court and imprisoned or fined.

Reacting to the ruling, Ramps on Friday said “this win is significant for the people of Guyana,” while adding that “this swift verdict shows the independence of the Court and that private and foreign businesses invest in Guyana with the support of a fair and transparent judicial system.

Rampersad yesterday said that the company’s attorney Satram and Satram will be liaising with the Local Content Secretariat for the collection of the certificate today.

The Chief Justice said that both the Minister and the Secretariat had breached the Act. In fact she made it clear that “the Minister had, and has no authority under the Local Content Act, to grant or refuse certification.”

Further, she said that the Secretariat misconstrued the Act and had taken irrelevant factors into consideration, such as pending criminal charges against the company that have “absolutely” no bearing in the determination of whether certification should be granted or not.

Under the existing contract the company facilitates logistics for vessels between Guyana and Trinidad, customs brokerage, clearing of equipment and cargo coming through local ports among other functions.