Recently appointed President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Nicholas Doerga, categorically stated today that the Chamber wants to have a leading role in drafting the Petroleum framework for Guyana.
The businessman said that such a leading role is critical in ensuring that local businesses are able to benefit substantially from the sector. Positing another reason, Doerga contended that GCCI wants to ensure that any new law which is being brought to the fore or any that is being updated for the sector considers the needs and capabilities of the business community.
During an exclusive interview with the Guyana Standard, Doerga said, “Before we made any recommendations about what we want, we first contacted some of the key government agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD), the Department of Energy, and the Ministry of Natural Resources. We wanted to know where they are. The response has been positive thus far from them; they are open to input from us.”
The GCCI President added, “These meeting with the agencies were necessary. It seems like each department is coming to a realisation of what they need to do to be ready for first oil. While they did not provide us with an overall formal document of what their plans are, they did discuss with us the things they feel are gaps or deficiencies in the sector and how they want to address those issues.”
Doerga said that GCCI has not expressed their intention formally to the government on having an input in drafting the petroleum framework but noted nonetheless that this is forthcoming.
He concluded, “The private sector needs to have a voice where the preparations for oil and gas are concerned. We believe that we can add meaningful insight as our perspective is informed by the advice we received from several consultants. We believe that it is the patriotic thing to do.”
