Local Content Bill not drafted in a “vacuum” – President Ali

The Irfaan Ali led government is praising itself for employing what it said was a consultative process for the draft Local Content Bill. That bill is expected to be tabled in the National Assembly today Thursday. Addressing the official opening of the corporate office of SBM Offshore on Thursday, President Irfaan Ali described the bill as “transitional and transactional”.

This is as the President said the bill was not drafted in a “vacuum.”

“The issue of having local content is one that requires balance,” President Ali said, “it requires a thorough and sometimes sophisticated understanding of the realistic opportunities that are inherent in the development of a new sector like oil and gas.”

Only this week, the government led by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo met with several stakeholders including the private sector bodies to discuss the bill.

President Ali promises that the landmark bill will ensure “that there is enough scope through a legislative framework that incentivises investment from the local private sector” as he said the bill will  enable the private sector to play its role in the oil and gas sector.