Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley today defended provisions and steps taken by countries to ensure its people meaningfully benefit from the development of their respective nations.
“The day that we do not provide opportunities for our citizens who participate in active citizenship of being able to benefit from the patrimony of our country is the day we sow the seeds of destruction of our nation and invite disruption,” PM Mottley declared.
She was at the time speaking during the 2022 International Energy Conference and Expo which is being hosted by Guyana from February 15 to 18.
While she did not make any specific reference, Mottley’s remarks come on the heels of a regional controversy that erupted following Guyana’s passage of its Local Content Legislation for the oil and gas industry.
In a leaked email, the Caricom Private Sector Organisation (CPSO) argued that Guyana’s law, which makes provisions for Guyanese persons and Guyanese businesses to benefit from the oil and gas sector at specified percentages, violates certain provisions of the Caricom Treaty.
The CPSO said it is “the most recently-accredited Associate Institution of the Caribbean Community” and is to act as the “apex” institution for the Private Sector in Caricom, with a mandate to contribute to the full implementation of the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME).
“We will have difficult conservations as well in CARICOM and we must but those conversations recognise that in every country, there are even regional and local conflicts and disagreements and it is our duty to be able to smooth that over…but to ensure that in no stage as newly independent countries of the world, do we leave our citizens as tenants in their own land,” PM Mottley contended.
The Guyanese private sector players have since questioned the legitimacy of the CPSO and even called on the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to intervene.
In fact, the Guyana Oil and Gas Energy Chamber (GOGEC) met with the Secretary General of Caricom, Carla Barnett, to voice its concerns.
