Steak and bottled water imported to supply oil ships operating offshore Guyana
… GMSA reiterates call for contract unbundling so local products can be supplied
Steak and bottled water are among the imported products supplied to oil ships operating offshore Guyana but Head of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) Rafeek Khan believes that local companies can supply these products if the major oil contractors cease the practice of contract bundling.
Khan, speaking at a press conference on Monday, said that many local companies have been building capacity over the past year to capitalise on the opportunities made available through Guyana’s Local Content law.
Last December, this legislation was passed in the National Assembly and later signed into law by President Dr. Irfaan Ali. It sets aside 40 areas that local services must be sourced at varying extents.
Even so, Khan lamented that some local companies encounter difficulties providing goods and services in the industry. He attributed this, in part, to contract bundling.
“…We are still importing steaks in the oil and gas industry, we are still importing water that goes into oil and gas because of the bundling.
“I would like to see perhaps a greater opportunity for businesses who have been building capacities to further prepare themselves for even more new opportunities to come,” Khan said.
Contract bundling is a process of consolidating goods and services required into one, much larger contract as opposed to requesting those goods and services from various players under separate, smaller contracts.
The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) is one local body that has repeatedly criticised this practice, lamenting that it can lock out local participation in the oil and gas sector.
Now, the GMSA’s Head said that this practice should end to allow local companies a fair shot at providing goods and services.
But the manufacturing body is not advocating for a lockout of foreign companies. In fact, the GMSA’s Chairman of the Trade, Investment & Legal Committee Ramesh Dookhoo said that revisions to the Local Content legislation must be fair to both foreign investors and local players.
