Latest update April 23rd, 2024 12:59 AM
Apr 11, 2021 Letters
DEAR EDITOR,
Kaieteur News – On the heels of a local firm being advised that it cannot bid for the supply of PPE to Exxon because it has no experience came another shocker from Exxon’s director for its Centre for Local Business Development, (CLBD,) Natasha Gaskin-Peters. Gaskin-Peters would have us believe that when oil companies procure goods from a local company – “if they are importing them, that is not really local content.” Really! If we are not allowed to import goods and supply to the oil company for a little chip and cheese, we may as well throw the entire “local content concept” overboard because we don’t produce anything at the manufacturing level that the oil companies need – not even gums for the oil worker to chew for boredom. If experience is needed to purchase and deliver PPE to Exxon, you can imagine what will be required to build or fabricate anything for them. Exxon is constantly looking to pay local workers cheaper than foreign workers for jobs with the same job description, so we are screwed in the jobs department too. Why should we allow this charade to window dress “local content” because it is something of a norm in all oil producing countries? Why don’t we just throw local content out the window?
I cannot understand Gaskin-Peters’ concern or concept about leakages. If you don’t produce something but purchase it from overseas and sell to the oil company, making a profit in a transaction that would not have been possible if we were not endowed with oil, I cannot envisage how this is “not really local content”( Gaskin-Peters’ words).
The name Gaskin-Peters rings a bell. I wonder if she is related to the former APNU+AFC business minister, Dominic Gaskin. Dominic Gaskin was quoted in an Oct. 4, 2018 KN article – “Critical elements missing from draft local content policy – IDB.” Gaskin, speaking of finalising our local content policy said, “When we took on the job of finishing this document, we did not budget for it. It was handed to us early in 2018”, and “We just don’t have the funds” to pay a consultant.
I get the impression here that his Government didn’t consider it expedient to produce a local content policy but only endeavoured to do it because of popular demand. In the said article, he said, “Don’t think all foreigners are your enemies. People will go where there are opportunities and we need to start doing the same thing and be aggressive…”
This was his advice to prospective entrepreneurs wanting a piece of the local content pie. The man was essentially lining up the local entrepreneurs to face competition – totally out of context of the intent of local content policy.
It is ironic that another Gaskin of the opposite sex would try to make a fool of us on the said local content landscape. Is there a sinister connection with Exxon at the root of it? We are being lined up continually to be shafted under the pretext of local content.
Yours respectfully,
Rudolph Singh
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