Guyana holds an open door policy to investors but strong local content and low interest rates are qualifying criteria, President Irfaan Ali yesterday said.
With hundreds of potential foreign investors here for the first locally organised energy conference and expo and many others accessing online, Ali stated that government’s focus is fuelled by long-term development of energy with its citizens benefitting being paramount.
“We are welcoming capital but the capital must come at the right price, so I am giving an open invitation like we did before,” the President said during his address to the 2022 International Energy Conference and Expo Guyana which started yesterday and runs until Friday.
“Once the capital is at least below 2.5 APR [annual percentage rate],” he added. And turning to his Cabinet members who were sitting in the front row which included Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh and Financial Advisor on policy Bharrat Jagdeo, he asked, “Or we are going lower now?”
“We are negotiating very competitively. So you will have to come with good rates and fixed term rates. So don’t second guess us. Don’t say you never had the opportunity. It’s open door policy. We are welcoming capital. Don’t complain if you don’t make use of the opportunity,” he stressed.
The government recently cancelled negotiations with the lead bidder for the new bridge over the Demerara River over the interest rate being charged.
Held under the theme, “Charting a Sustainable Energy Future”, Ali used his keynote address to commit to the sustainable exploitation of resources and underscored that the country will use the revenue from the petroleum sector for rapid economic development while seeking to balance it with the preservation and protection of the environment.
Key to bolstering this country’s growth, Ali noted, was investing in its human development and ensuring that when Guyanese are finished working for their country’s development they are able to “retire with dignity.”
“Nothing is possible without understanding the importance of human development. Our development trajectory prioritises people-centred development [and] we aspire to a Guyana which is free, prosperous, socially just, and globally competitive and which serves every citizen equitably. Guyanese must be afforded good education, decent work be able to start their own businesses, buy their own homes, and retire with dignity,” Ali underscored.
The President let it be known that when investors come here, they too must understand why so many resources are invested in human resource development, so much so that this country’s local content requirements are enshrined in law and must be adhered to.
It is why, he said, he was making Guyana’s energy development plans clear to investors, within the context of the country’s development trajectory, “so that investors and stakeholders can appreciate that our energy plans are consistent and in conformity with our chosen development pathway.”
He noted that when stakeholders understand objectives and their respective roles and work in harmony, their collaborative ventures are almost guaranteed to achieve the goals set out.
“We are going to state directly the narrative. There is no need for any interpretation, this is the narrative. We are pursuing this path; we know of the responsibility we speak about. We welcome investors but we believe that local opportunities, the private sector and every single Guyanese and regional stakeholder must be part of the prosperity and benefit from the prosperity.”
Ali pointed out that government and the people of Guyana having open arms to investors coming here is not local content.
Technological transformation
“Local content is not about not welcoming investors. We welcome investors from Exxon, be it the international investor Hess, every single stakeholder whether you are regional or international, we welcome you. But all we are saying is that that space for technological transformation, collaboration, local growth and competitiveness, increased productivity must be built into the system to be of benefit to the people of the country,” he asserted.
With Suriname President Chan Santokhi and Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, and a number of representatives from the diplomatic community in attendance, the President said that he wanted to make it clear that when he speaks of Guyanese prosperity, he wants his regional brothers and sisters to know that they are included as “we are all together in this.”
This is because, according to Ali, regional and developing countries must band together and share knowledge on wide ranging issues so as to form economically, socially, and environmentally viable solutions as they have all been through the struggle of suppression.
“Shall we today start a movement? To promote our ideals and our ideas, as we were for a long time told what were our ideals and our ideas. It is occasions like these that we can seize those moments and create a new moment,” he posited.
To investors also, Ali said that while oil & gas has put the country on the global map, and it is the reason why most persons are looking for investments, those opportunities are not limited to the sector. He pointed out that it is for this reason that his government will invest in strengthening its competiveness in existing sectors, thus creating the environment for new and emerging sectors.
“The wealth from oil and gas will be used to achieve these objectives and broaden the economic platform that drives current and future growth of our country.”
He also listed sectors such as agriculture, infrastructure, tourism and healthcare, as areas persons could look at if they were seeking to maximise the returns on their monies.
In sustainable exploitation of resources, Ali said that Guyana has a stellar record of environmental preservation and it intends to keep it that way.
The President referred to an interview he had with a foreign journalist who questioned why Guyana would want to boast of having a strong climate change policy and of being environmentally friendly and still pursue oil exploration and production.
According to Ali, Guyana has for decades been ignored by foreign investors when it had much of the same resources he pointed to. “A developing country has made a strategic decision that it is going to aggressively pursue the oil and gas sector to bring about economic transformation that leads to sustainable growth and development,” he said.
“Why is it always a different question when a developing country is advancing a particular course?” he queried, adding that the public must “contemplate this question.”
He assured that Guyana has sound plans for balancing oil and gas and a green economy, reasoning that it is the petroleum sector that will allow this.
Pointing specifically to Guyana, he remarked that the country needs projects such as the gas-to-shore, which will ensure “a 50% reduction in the cost of energy by 2025.”
“We will remain uncompetitive if we cannot address the cost of energy. We must address the cost of energy. Our private sector will not be able to grow if we cannot bring down the cost of energy and we will bring down the cost of energy by 50 per cent by 2025. Bringing down the cost for energy is about creating the space and opportunity for the development of a world-class manufacturing, industrial, and agro-processing sector. That is how real benefits come to the people, that is how real benefits come to the country; when we can invest and create the opportunity to improve competitiveness and expand businesses opportunities. There shall be no turning back from this energy agenda,” President Ali averred.
He nonetheless assured that even as Guyana exploits its oil resources, it will continue to champion climate change policies
“Our development strategy is built on a low carbon pathway. The core objective of this strategy is economic sustainability, diversified investment in climate mitigation and adaptation, carbon credit…,” he said.
“We in this region and as developing countries must contribute to the global solution. We have the capacity, we have the capability and we must now work together to find our place and space in bringing global solutions,” he declared.