Jagdeo promises more direct benefits for citizens from oil earnings

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Sunday announced the construction of multi-million dollar training facility at Port Mourant in Corentyne, Berbice. He said the facility will serve as a centre to equip Guyanese with the expertise to work in the oil and gas sector.

Delivering the feature address at a memorial event for late Presidents Cheddi Jagan and Janet Jagan, the Vice President said with the rapid development of the oil and gas sector, it is important that Guyanese take centre stage and benefit.

“Right here at Port Mourant, there is going to be a massive facility for training Guyanese for the industry. This will be a US$120M facility for training people to work in the industry. This is what the PPP stands for.

Mr. Jagdeo his government has heard the calls for Guyanese to benefit more from the oil and gas sector.

He said while the country is in need of foreign investments and capital to develop the industry, Guyanese must not be left behind and must be in a position to get a fair share of the proceeds from the oil sector.

“We have travelled around the world, we have seen these countries, how the foreigners people of one color live in ethnic enclaves, we said not in Guyana, the laws now says that these foreign companies can only rent welding places from Guyanese so that Guyanese now has an opportunity to supply them, they can only rent transportation, “ Mr. Jagdeo said.

The Vice President said Guyanese have already raked in hundreds of millions of dollars from the sector. He said more local companies and citizens stand to benefit more.

“Most importantly, we have passed a local content law, that has brought nearly $US700M of business and business opportunities to Guyanese because we believe that this industry must work for our people too not the foreigners alone,” the Vice President said.

The party’s supporters and loyalists who were gathered at Babu John were told that the government is committed to ensuring that citizens benefit largely from the sector. The Vice President also used up a big chunk of his speech to lambaste the Opposition APNU+AFC and their five years in office between 2015 and 2020. He hammered the People’s National Congress, which is the largest party in the coalition, declaring that the party is almost dead.