THE Government will soon present to the National Assembly its Green Paper on the proposed Natural Resources Fund (NRF), Minister of State Joseph Harmon told reporters on Monday.
According to Harmon, Finance Minister Winston Jordan presented the Green Paper to Cabinet recently where the contents therein were discussed and approved to be laid in the House for consideration. Importantly, he noted that after the parliamentary consideration on the Green Paper, the public would be allowed to scrutinise it.
The intention of the NRF is to ensure that the revenue which comes from oil goes into that fund to be properly monitored. Harmon explained that “it is that fund which will fund much of its estimates of our budget. Projects which are identified for budgetary support will get that through the fund,” he told reporters.
“The Green Paper was designed to stimulate a discussion and to put forward key issues for consideration with regard to legislation to be enacted in relation to our national patrimony,” the minister stated. The Green Paper includes information on why a NRF is necessary and the proposed short and long term plans to address fiscal and financial issues related to oil and gas revenues.
“The paper addressed the options for resource allocation, investment and savings to be considered in relation to the disbursement of the expected oil and gas revenue and the management and regulation of the fund,” Harmon added.
Meanwhile, when questioned further, the Minister of State made it clear that it is not the intention of his government to have oil revenue go directly to particular centres. All the money must be placed in the fund after which the government ministers will be called upon by the public service to fund projects that have been identified. This, he says, speaks to a high level of accountability. Additionally, Harmon told reporters that the question of investments and the entity to manage the process has not been decided upon.
“But the investment basically is intended to be safe investment so that the money does not just remain there, but is invested in safe investments that would allow for the country to benefit in the long run from having this fund,” he stated. One aim of the fund is advancing critical development and investment needs within the country.
He noted too, that several options have since been floated and will be dealt with during the public consultation period, pointing to the percentage that will go towards investments and development respectively. “Those are issues which will be dealt with- I believe there were three options which have been dealt with in the paper, and after consultation we are going to arrive at something that is in the best interest of all of Guyana,” Harmon stressed.
The draft legislation for the NRF is being fine-tuned by the Attorney General’s office and it is hoped that the draft legislation will be placed before the National Assembly for consideration before year end.
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Basil Williams recently told the media that work is on-going on the draft legislation, after which it will be discussed at the level of Cabinet. Other aims of the NRF are, to ensure the stabilisation of the economy while ensuring that monetary resources are available through transparent methodologies in keeping with the Santiago Principles. The guiding purpose of these principles is to have in place a transparent and sound governance structure that provides for adequate operational controls, risk management and accountability; ensure compliance with applicable regulatory and disclosure requirements.
