Stabroek News Editorial
By Stabroek News – EDITORIAL- April 22, 2022
In a recent column in this newspaper former Auditor General Anand Goolsarran drew attention to three major projects which had been financed by China’s Exim Bank and which he described as having failed. As a result the nation was left with significant debt. A fourth failed project to which he adverted had been funded by the Exim Bank of India. All of these ventures intended to develop the country had been embarked on when the PPP/C was previously in office.
The one which is often cited by critics as the classic case of a white elephant is the Skeldon sugar factory, the inspiration of Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo when he was head of state. It was intended as part of the Skeldon Sugar Modernisation Project which encompassed enlarged areas under cane, a refinery and co-generation of electricity for the national grid, estimated at a total cost of US$165 million.
GUYANA: OIL: The local content spat – dangers of inattention – By Wilberne Persaud – OilNOW
Wilberne Persaud
By Wilberne Persaud – OilNOW
A few weeks ago, a regrettable faux pas pushed Guyana’s Local Content Policy (LCP) into news headlines across the region.
The Act seeks reasonable retention of benefits generated by activity in the oil sector for Guyanese companies, businesses and workers to a degree that optimizes use of existing and readily created local capacity. The policy encourages both training and transference of skills attainable by the local population — benchmark proportions of the workforce being local are indicated. These are admittedly, worthy objectives.
The awkward occurrence was a leaked e-mail from the CARICOM Private Sector Organisation (CPSO), the fledgling association of regional commercial interests, with four representatives from Trinidad and Tobago and only one from Guyana. The e-mail exposed the group’s dissatisfaction with the LCP. Careless handling of e-mail communication, in and of itself is not a good sign. The question though is, what happens next? Continue reading →
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