First oil is around the corner and sadly, Guyana is in a state of confusion in the absence of a clearly defined vision for the sector, a legislative and regulatory framework, an efficient structure for management, and strong institutional capacity. So said Progressive Party (PPP) presidential candidate, Irfaan Ali.
During a recent interview with Public Relations Specialist, Kit Nascimento, Ali bemoaned the fact that discussions on oil and where Guyana needs to go has seen little civil society participation as well as a lack of effort to educate citizens about the wealth to come. To add further insult to injury, Ali highlighted that there is no Local Content Policy in place to ensure the private sector is able to properly benefit from the sector.
What is also disturbing for the presidential hopeful is the fact that the government has failed to do a gap analysis of what the sector needs for the next five to 15 years. “You need something like this so that students, for example, who are planning their careers would know where the opportunities are for oil as well as gas,” said Ali.
He added, “And when we do this gap analysis, we need to invest in training our people because right now there is a competition for the very little qualified people that we have. We need to invest in building capability for the sector so that over time, we can have locals involved in managing and leading the sector so it can be a true Guyana oil and gas sector…”
The PPP Presidential Candidate then turned his attention to the importance of a national vision. In this regard, Ali stressed that oil will play an important role in the country’s future while noting that it would be a catalyst for the expansion of opportunities in other sectors.
He said, “In managing the oil sector and looking to its future, I have said that you can’t look at it in isolation of national development and in isolation of transforming the country and developing a framework that would make us globally competitive while building an enabling environment so the local private sector can benefit…But for this to happen, we need a clearly defined vision for where we want to go. It can’t be a partisan issue. ..Regardless of which party is in government, there must be a set of projects that is all-embracing.”
Further to this, the former PPP Minister said that Guyana’s vision for the oil sector needs to outline clearly how the oil revenue would be used to close the gaps of inequality.
He added, “You need to ensure that it happens in a structured way…You can’t just build highways to nowhere. You have to be very deliberate in the path to be taken.” (See link for the full interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWn_FaLClIs&feature=push-fr&attr_tag=7sVrgZkXBY3tLv2Q%3A6)
