Introduction
Last week’s column gave a brief overview of the Third Draft of Government’s Local Content Policy which was released to the bemused public by Dr. Mark Bynoe, Director, Department of Energy, part of the super Ministry of the Presidency. For this rather poor piece of work, Dr. Bynoe paid Dr Michael Warner US$104,500 in what is just another costly demonstration of how inept Bynoe and the Government have been in relation to the petroleum.
Column 79 had written that the Local Content Policy Draft could be described in two words – First Consideration. I take that back. It is one word and that word is junk. Yes, that is what I think of this so-called policy. No wonder and incredibly, not even the author, Dr Warner was prepared to identify himself with the Document. In all my years of work, I have never come across a Report that does not bear the name of the author.
Now, this is supposed to be a Policy Paper of the Government of Guyana to govern, regulate and direct our country for the next forty years or more. Yet, incredibly, nowhere among the stakeholders in public and private sectors identified in the document’s Preamble as informing the formative consultations was the Minister of Natural Resources; the Director of the Department of Energy; the Minister of Social Protection, including the “Minster of Labour”; the Minister of Business or leading Trade Unionists. In fact, as the Consultant on a Policy of such considerable importance, this man should have insisted either meeting Cabinet or receiving a substantial Brief from them. It was no surprise however and rather quite ironic that Warner was not shy in naming ExxonMobil and Ratio as among his formative consultations!