Guyana’s Ministry of Natural Resources, through the Local Content Secretariat, has launched its online portal to speed up local content certification and reduce delays, as the government seeks to improve efficiency in the oil and gas supply chain.
Michael Munroe, the Secretariat’s Director, told the gathering at Duke Lodge today, February 13, that the move is aimed at addressing processing delays.
He outlined new timelines. Sole proprietorships can expect decisions “within five working days” for new applications and “within three working days” for renewals, once all documents are submitted
Companies that are 100% Guyanese-owned can expect new applications processed “within 15 working days”. Firms with foreign shareholders may take longer. “We would have to scrutinize with greater intensity to ensure that the letter and spirit of the Local Content Act is achieved.” New applications in that category may take 21 business days.
A key feature of the portal is that applications will not be accepted for review unless all required documents are uploaded, a change aimed at cutting down back and forth communication and stalled reviews.
Munroe described the portal as transformative, explaining that the goal is “a faster, more efficient, secure, transparent, and predictable approach to dealing with local content applications”.
Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, said the portal supports government efforts to modernise business operations by reducing human interference.
He warned that due diligence remains critical. “Right now, the Local Content Secretariat — and this is the reason we’re moving towards a portal — has been heavily taxed with the volume of applications coming in. As you would imagine, we must ensure that due diligence, especially on new applicants, is properly done, mainly because in the past we have had some bad experiences where individuals tried to establish shell companies to get around the legislation,” he said.
To date, over 1,200 Guyanese businesses have been registered, and over US$2 billion in goods and services have been procured from Guyanese companies and nationals within the 40 sectors as prescribed in Guyana’s Local Content Act.
This includes “US$175 million in construction, US$250 million in engineering and machining, US$387 million in manpower and crewing, and US$101 million in accommodation.”
