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Satnarine Bachew, CEO of KC Confectionary, at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Trinidad and Tobago’s 13th Annual International Finance and Accounting Conference at the Hyatt on Thursday. – Photo by Sureash Cholai –

IN THE absence of a proper regulatory framework to protect the environment Satnarine Bachew, CEO of KC Confectionery Ltd, challenged accountants at the ICATT Beyond Finance conference held at the Hyatt Regency on Thursday to take a stand against unsustainable practices in the businesses they represent.

He issued the challenge in his presentation at the conference on building institutions for sustainable development.

“I think the accounting fraternity has an important role to play in that, as the gatekeepers to companies and the people who report on finances. It can’t just be the bottom line. We have to put a lot of factors in there. Sometimes you have to put your hand up against the flow of the tide like a salmon that swims upstream to say, “This is wrong,” he said.

Bachew said that if TT wants to build organisations geared toward sustainable development organisations must take its corporate responsibility seriously. He said that starts at a global level then at a national level and finally at an institutional level.

“Through our education programs as organisations, we can drive (sustainable environmental practices) down to the man on the street – so we would not throw things out the windows of our vehicles, or look for somewhere to dump the old fridge,” he said. “We will do things properly.

“Institutions have a tremendous role to play in driving this all the way down, but sometimes we shirk that responsibility and say ‘that doesn’t affect me. I need to make money and that’s it.’”

He took to task several industries such as the quarrying industry, and knocked people’s practice of polluting the water courses. He also highlighted the phenomenon of people constructing buildings in areas without approvals.

“In foreign countries you cannot put a stake in the ground without an approval,” he said. “Here, well, you do anything and everything. If you wake up in the morning and say you want to stretch or you say you want to put up an apartment next door, you can go and put it. Then when we have flooding the authorities say ‘unapproved development.’ People are changing the courses of rivers on their own. How did that happen?”

He said that TT’s lack of a regulatory framework for sustainable environmental practices was a “tremendous opportunity” for businesses and organisations to now make a difference. However, he said TT would be putting itself in great risk of feeling the full brunt of bad practices if no one takes a stand.

“Go back to 2008 and 2009 with the financial crisis. Reports show that people knew, and they stayed quiet. And we had a global meltdown. So what does that tell you?”

Bachew holds a bachelors of science degree, a master of science degree, and an executive master’s degree in business administration. He served as a director on the TT Manufacturers Association and as the chairman of the Airports’ Authority. He also served for 20 years at TCL, and for ten years was its general manager.

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The National Junior Squash Titles were decided at the National Lotteries Authority Squash Centre at Paul’s Avenue here in Kingstown last Saturday.

In the Boys Under-13 Final, Darius Humphrey defeated Savante Parmore 11-8, 11-3, 11-9; and Raejon Dover beat De Quan Garrick 11-3, 11-9, 12-10 in the 3rd Place Play-off.

Jaydon Williams clinched the Boys Under-17 Title bating Jayden George 10-12, 11-6, 12-10, 11-9 in the Final, and Deron Lewis defeated O’Neil Sprott 11-0, 1104, 11-6 to win 3rd Place.

Nadira Morgan won the Girls Under-17 Title with a 11-7, 11-6, 11-7 win over Ciara George in the Final. The 3rd place was won by Caeli George who defeated Amiyah Bascombe 11-3, 11-8, 11-6.

Amiyah Bascome emerged as the Most Improved player in the Girls Championship. The Most Improved Award in the Boys Competition went to Savante Padmore.

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…Dec 31 earmarked for review of first schedule

The Private Sector has on Thursday lobbied for an increase to the current 40 services which oil and gas companies and their subcontractors must procure from Guyanese, as prescribed in the Local Content Act.

The Private Sector Commission has held a Sensitization and Local Content Forum aimed at garnering feedback on the First Schedule of the Local Content Act. PSC Chairman Paul Cheong underlined that advocating for local content has always been high on the agenda, and evaluating the landscape has become even more paramount.

The Private Sector Commission had formed its Local Content Advisory Committee, which works in conjunction with the Local Content Secretariat to keep the Private Sector informed and engaged on the topics of local content, while raising concerns facing local Private Sector bodies.

The first schedule to the Local Content Act sets out the minimum threshold and level for local content levels in relation to the procurement of goods and services. There are 40 areas, with local participation up to 100.

PSC Chair Paul Cheong is asserting that it is time to expand these categories to maximise benefits for Guyanese. Cheong expressed, “We believe the time (is ripe)to expand those 40 categories, as now the capacity and the skill of Guyanese have expanded. Many companies have invested and have established partnerships. It is now up to us to up our game and deliver quality services in keeping with the standards and requirements of the oil and gas sector.”

He commended the Natural Resources Ministry for addressing the payment period, but shared concerns in relation to contract bundling.

“With regards to contract bundling, we will have come across cases where companies are issuing tenders for a minimum number of services on the one contract, when specific areas could be competitively tendered for to allow local companies to participate. How can there be commitment to local content and the participation of Guyanese businesses in the value chain when there remain efforts to maintain contract bundling?” Cheong pointed out.

Stakeholders at the private sector forum on local content

Regarding the Private Sector calls, Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat recognises there is a capacity deficit which should be analysed beforehand.

“We need to recognize that there is a capacity deficit in Guyana. It is a fact. Nobody is to be blamed, because we are moving at such a speed sometimes it is hard to keep up. So, we need to ensure that we build capacity to truly benefit from local content. The Government is open to revising the schedule, but do we truly have the capacity?” he asked.

In December 31, an assessment of the first schedule will be conducted to look at the 40 services currently outlined for Guyanese. Minister Bharrat added that this capital-intensive sector requires partnerships, as he said, “So we are genuinely competitive in nature, but we got to realize the difference. We got to realize that we’re dealing with a sector that is very capital- intensive.”

Guyana is reaching unprecedented heights, producing 380,000 barrels of oil per day with a one-million-barrel daily projection in some four years’ time.

Employment

During the forum, Senior Petroleum Coordinator Bobby Gossai placed emphasis on measuring how local content is impacting the population.

“The emphasis here is on wanting to measure, because we want to be able to present to you how much local content has impacted on this economy, and we know by now that we are the fastest growing economy in the world. We are going to be a model type of economic system next year and into 2025,” he explained.

He added, “So, in terms of the procurement activities, for us, we want local content to be seen as an opportunity for procurement in Guyana not to be measured in any ad hoc manner, but to be measured in a direct manner as well as an indirect, if you are providing an interrelated service to a secondary business.”

Between January and June, over $310 million entered the economy from registered stakeholders. Gossai pointed towards enhanced collaboration to have real time information to monitor and evaluate. He added that employment is one of the key things to measure, and a pattern has already been observed. The system is now reflecting more Guyanese and less migrant workers.

“Employment is one of the key things that we need to measure for the Local Content Secretariat and the local content reports that are coming in. In fact, what we have been doing is looking at a number of Guyanese against the number of foreigners that have been employed in sector. We have seen the change in patterns, we will also see the projection of new hires for each year. What we want to make sure is that this is on a sliding scale for Guyana,” Gossai pointed out.

Through this engagement, Private Sector stakeholders have been able to share their individual views on how the 40 areas are performing, and how they can be expanded.

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See below for a statement from GAWU on salary increases for workers of the Berbice Bridge Company Inc: 

The Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) and the Berbice Bridge Company Inc (BBCI) on November 16, 2022, have been able to conclude negotiations for 2022. Through the agreement reached, workers of the company will enjoy pay rises of between nine (9) percent and fifteen (15) percent. The negotiated increases are retroactive to January 01, 2022.

Additionally, through our discussions, the parties agreed to revise the salary scales. Those workers whose earnings fall below the new scales will be brought up to the new minimum of the scale. This would see such workers receiving in excess of fifteen (15) percent pay increase.

Apart from wages, the GAWU and the BBCI have agreed that all allowances would be increased by nine (9) percent across the board. Through the agreement reached, arrangements regarding the scheduling of staff engaged in the retraction of the bridge on weekends and holidays were clarified and addressed. The issue of year-end bonus also received attention during the negotiations as well.

The workers and the Union are pleased that we were able to reach agreement at the bilateral level. The discussions, we believe, were cordial, respectful and frank and assisted in reaching a speedy conclusion. For their part, the workers are pleased with the increases secured by the Union and at this time, the Company is addressing the retroactive payments.

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