The Local Content Secretariat is poised to receive a $50M injection for 2023 following the scrutiny of the Ministry of Natural Resources’ budget by the Committee of Supply on Tuesday.
Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat recalled that the secretariat was established in 2022 and received financial support from the ministry to execute its mandate.
“We want to formally give it an allocation so that much more can be done, especially given our pledge to hold consultations on the review of the Act in 2023. The law says for example that the secretariat is responsible for hosting sensitization programmes across the country and we want to get that started,” Bharrat said.
As a result of the Local Content Act and the work conducted by the secretariat, Bharrat said, “It is estimated that over US$700M was spent in-country as part of local content efforts.”
The Natural Resources Minister said the secretariat has also ensured the registration of over 500 Guyanese companies and the approval of over 29 five-year local content plans. He said further in-country benefits are expected with increased funding for the unit.
The Local Content Law, as previously noted, prioritizes Guyanese nationals and Guyanese companies in the procurement of goods and services and enables local capacity development.
The First Schedule of the Act ring-fences 40 categories of work for Guyanese participation via the supply of goods and the provision of services which include: food supply, rental of office space, accommodation, insurance, accounting and legal services.
The law also empowers the secretariat to develop and maintain measures for the effective implementation of local content by companies.
