THE article headed ‘Gold Board’s $102B tops list of government agencies with large budgets’ (Kaieteur News, April 3, 2013, page 3) may give the impression that the Guyana Gold Board’s access to the $102B is readily available. While the figures stated, in the body of the article, are consistent with Appendix T (Volume 1, Page 598) of the 2013 Estimates of the Public Sector 2013, some clarity is provided to avoid any misinterpretation or misunderstanding.

The Guyana Gold Board Act (Chapter 66:01) requires the Board to purchase from small and medium-scale miners at the London Daily Fix; the Ministry of Finance provides a float to facilitate these purchases. At conclusion of a sale, the funds are returned directly to the Ministry of Finance to net off against funds taken to sustain the float; thereby a revolving credit is in effect and the Guyana Gold Board will have only a small part (the float) of the $102B which represents the budgeted turn-over for 2013.
Additionally, the Guyana Gold Board collects and remits, on behalf of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission and the Guyana Revenue Authority, royalties and taxes on gold, which forms a part of the cash flow for accountability and not ownership.
Moreover, the Guyana Gold Board Act (“the Act”) is stated to be “An Act to provide for the establishment, constitution and functioning of the Guyana Gold Board and for matters connected therewith” (see: the Long Title).
The Act essentially establishes the Guyana Gold Board (‘the Board’) (see: section 3) and makes provisions for what the Board is set up to do. The constitution of the Board is to be found in the First Schedule to the Act and sets out, inter alia, its composition, meetings and the procedure to be followed at those meetings.
The functions of the Board, as set out in section 4 of the Act, are as follows:
a. To carry on the business of trading in gold;
b. To secure at all times an adequate supply of gold and to ensure its equitable distribution in Guyana at fair prices;
c. Subject to this Act, to purchase all gold produced in Guyana;
d. Subject to this Act, to see all gold in Guyana and to sell gold outside of Guyana;
e. To engage in other related commercial or industrial activities.
In this regard, as far as can be ascertained, the primary objective of the Board is to buy and sell all the gold in Guyana – save and except where the Board, under section 9 of the Act, authorises persons to have in their possession or to sell or export gold.
Under section 12 of the Act,
1. The board shall maintain a fund into which  shall be paid all such monies as may, from time to time, be appropriated for its purpose by Parliament and such other monies as may lawfully be paid to the Boards, and out of the fund shall be paid all expenses incurred by the Board in carrying out its functions under this Act and all other liabilities properly incurred by the Board.
2. The Board shall manage, administer and keep proper accounts of the fund.
Section 13 of the Act states that “the Board may, with the approval of the minister responsible for finance, borrow sums required by the Board for meeting any of its obligations or discharging any of its functions.”
Further, pursuant to section 14, the Board may make investments. Specifically, section 14 provides that “monies standing to the credit of the Board may, from time to time be invested in securities approved either generally or specifically by the minister, and the Board may from time to time with the like approval sell all or any of such securities.
The minister retains oversight over the Board, and may “after consultation with the Board, give to the Board directions of a general or specific character as to the policy to be followed by the Board in the performance of its functions as appears to the minister to be requisite in the public interest, and the Board shall give effect to any such directions” (see section 17 (1) of the Act).
The minister also has the power to make regulations for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of the Act (see: section 23 of the Act).