Landmark Natural Resources Fund Bill approved
Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh
Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh

–as Opposition ‘plunges’ National Assembly into chaos with protest, attempts to steal Speaker’s mace

GUYANA’S oil revenues will now be governed by a piece of legislation that assures greater levels of transparency and accountability on the part of the government.

This was made possible with the passage of the 2021 Natural Resources Fund (NRF) Bill, which was passed in the National Assembly on Tuesday night, amid massive uproar from the main A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Opposition.

The 2021 Bill essentially replaces the “inadequate” NRF Act, which was “rushed through” the National Assembly in January of 2019, by a “defunct” APNU+AFC government, which was already toppled with the passage of a no-confidence motion in December 2018. The 2019 legislation did not benefit from the input of then People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Opposition.

Soon after its passage, the 2019 legislation was heavily criticised by a number of stakeholders, including the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), one of Guyana’s leading financial partners, which described the Act as being one that “departs from good practices.”

The IDB said too that the complexity of the legislation essentially conspires against fiscal transparency and public understanding.

As a result of those “inadequacies,” the then APNU+AFC government was able to deny having collected a US$18 million signing bonus from ExxonMobil Guyana.

“If they gon try to hide [US$]18 million, you [can] imagine what they gon do when hundreds of millions start to come in,” Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, reasoned during his passionate defence of the proposed repeal of the Act.

As part of the new legislation, any Finance Minister who fails to disclose receipts of oil revenues of any kind, within a three-month period, will face up to 10 years imprisonment.

Initially, after the passage of the historic Local Content Bill, the National Assembly resumed, with the Speaker of the House, Manzoor Nadir, calling on Minister Singh to jumpstart the parliamentary debates.

CHAOS AND THIEVERY
This was objected to by Opposition Chief Whip, Christopher Jones, who asked that the Bill be sent to a Special Select Committee. Speaker Nadir then responded to say that he prefers listening to the arguments on both sides, before determining whether or not the Bill should be sent to a select committee.

Minister Singh then took to the podium, but his presentation was interrupted by members of the APNU+AFC Opposition who kept banging on their desks, chanting the words, “no thieving bill must pass.”

The uproar continued for several minutes, even as Minister Singh pressed ahead to make his point. As the chaos grew, the Speaker arose from his seat and asked that order return to the House. “I am on my feet,” Mr. Nadir cautioned.

However, the protest from the Opposition grew, as the Opposition MPs, armed with placards, converged at the centre floor of the dome of the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, where the National Assembly is being held.

The Speaker, in a bid to carry on the business of the House, advised Minister Singh to proceed. The growing uproar eventually forced Speaker Nadir to call for a short suspension, during which, the Opposition continued their protest.

The Speaker returned to the dome several minutes later, and Dr. Singh was asked to continue, but in doing so, he was gradually surrounded by the opposition MPs who continued their loud chants and whistle-blowing.
This forced the government Members of the National Assembly to form a human barricade around the minister as he continued his arguments in favour of the new Bill. By this time, Parliamentary staff had already formed a shield around the Speaker.

A few minutes in, a brazen attempt was made by Opposition Member of Parliament, Annette Ferguson, to steal the Speaker’s mace; she was immediately joined by some of her other colleagues. This unprecedented act was foiled by a young clerk of the House, who managed to secure the instrument, which he held on tightly to as he laid on the floor of the conference centre.

A video posted on social media shows one of the Opposition parliamentarians verbally abusing the young man, using racial slurs. By that time, the NRF, as presented by Minister Singh, was passed.

TRANSPARENCY
The new Bill, which now has to be assented to by President Dr. Irfaan Ali, will demand that withdrawals and spending of the oil revenues benefit from several layers of scrutiny, including pre and post parliamentary scrutiny, as indicated by President Ali on Tuesday.

The new legislation requires that withdrawals from the fund only be used to finance national developmental projects or respond to major natural disasters. Further, those projects would all have to be included as components of the national budget, which is subject to parliamentary debates and approval.

Moreover, in accordance with existing financial regulations, the projects and programmes funded by oil revenues would also have to be investigated by the Office of the Auditor General, after which, a comprehensive Audit Report has to be compiled and submitted to the National Assembly. That report then has to face further scrutiny by the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which is led by the Opposition.

The new Bill also seeks to reverse some of the “fatal flaws” which were detected in the 2019 Act. Apart from being passed by a toppled government, the 2019 NRF Act makes it especially complicated to calculate how the country’s oil revenues are being spent.

To right that particular wrong, the 2021 Bill proposes that withdrawals be capped so that money from the fund could be saved for future generations, and that a formula be introduced to allow for easy calculation by all Guyanese.

To this end, in the first instance, Guyana will be able to withdraw 100 per cent of the money contained in the fund, after which the cap will take effect at 75 per cent of the second US$500 million deposited into the NRF during the preceding fiscal year of its passage, followed by 50 per cent, then 25 per cent, five per cent, and finally, at three per cent of any amounts in excess of $2.5 billion.

Under the new legislation, the excessive powers previously given to the Finance Minister will also be reduced, as it introduces a Board of Directors and an oversight committee to manage the fund. Those bodies will comprise of a number of diverse stakeholders including members of the private sector and a person nominated by the National Assembly.

Nonetheless, once the Bill is assented to by President Ali, the government could begin to make withdrawals to fund its development agenda, which is premised on utilising the oil revenues to propel and enhance a number of critical non-oil sectors such as education, agriculture, health and social services.

The government also has plans to embark on a massive energy mix which will not only contribute to the fight against climate change, but will also cut the cost of electricity by 50 per cent, thereby boosting the manufacturing and services sector, whilst encouraging further investments.

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