Natural Resource Fund board, committees appointed
President, Dr. Irfaan Ali (centre) and Prime Minister Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips (second right), along with some of the members of the NRF Investment Committee. From left are: Richard Rambarran, Chairperson Shaleeza Shaw and Michael Munroe (Adrian Narine photo)
President, Dr. Irfaan Ali (centre) and Prime Minister Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips (second right), along with some of the members of the NRF Investment Committee. From left are: Richard Rambarran, Chairperson Shaleeza Shaw and Michael Munroe (Adrian Narine photo)

MEMBERS of the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Board of Directors, the Public Accountability and Oversight Committee (PAOC), and the Investment Committee were officially appointed by President, Dr. Irfaan Ali at ceremony at the Office of the President (OP) on Tuesday.

The NRF Board consists of five members, the PAOC nine members, and the Investment Committee seven members. However, only two members of the Investment Committee were present at Tuesday’s ceremony. The other members will receive their appointment instruments at a later date.

The members of the bodies will serve for a period of two years, with eligibility for re-appointment.
President Ali described the appointees as an exceptional pool of Guyanese, and underscored the importance of the entities they will serve.

President, Dr. Irfaan Ali (centre) and Prime Minister Brigadier (ret’d) Mark Phillips (fourth right) and some of the members of the NRF Public Accountability and Oversight Committee (Adrian Narine photo)

The three bodies are part of the framework established by the NRF Act for independent oversight of the monies garnered from Guyana’s oil-and-gas sector.
“We promise that in administering our responsibilities to this sector that we will have persons who demonstrate capacity and capability to manage, but, more importantly, that the Government would have an arm’s length relationship, and would have a group of people not political in nature. We are very pleased today that we have been able to fulfil this important responsibility, and the management of our oil and gas resources is now strengthened,” Dr. Ali stated.

As announced earlier this year, the NRF Board is Chaired by  Major General (ret’d) Joe Singh, while the other members are Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett; former People’s National Congress (PNC) parliamentarian Dunstan Barrow; Private Sector Executive Ramesh Dookhoo, and former Chancellor of the University of Guyana Professor Compton Bourne.

Bourne replaces United Kingdom parliamentarian David Lammy, who had been announced as a member of the board earlier this year, but has since communicated his unavailability to be part of the work of the board.
“Circumstances and the environment in which he is operating has changed. Due to the changes to his requirement at home in the UK, he asked us not to have him play a part on this board at this time, in keeping with what his priorities are. We are able to have excellent replacement by Guyanese; we are all very proud of Professor Compton Bourne,” the President said.

Section 5 (1) of the Natural Resources Fund Act 2021, Act No. 19 of 2021, provides for a Board of Directors of the Fund comprising of not less than three and not more than five members, who shall be appointed by the President, inclusive of a Chairperson.

Section 5 (2) requires for these directors to be persons who have wide experience in legal, financial, business or administrative matters, one of whom shall be nominated by the National Assembly and one of whom shall be a representative of the private sector.

“This board brings together experience in different fields, knowledge in different fields, and gives us a combined capacity and capability that will bring true value to the management of our natural resources,” Dr. Ali related.
“We as a country should be very proud that within our population we could find citizens who could now perform this responsibility. As a Government, we give our full support in ensuring you can execute your mandate, and perform your duties with ease, efficiency and necessary impetus to make your work efficient.”

The NRF is tasked with managing this wealth for the present and future benefit of Guyanese in an effective and efficient manner, and in accordance with the principles of good governance, transparency, accountability and international best practices, including the Santiago Principles, the generally accepted principles and practices governing Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF) globally.

The NRF Board would be responsible for the overall management of the NRF; reviewing and approving policies of the fund; monitoring the performance of the fund; ensuring compliance with the approved policies of the fund; exercising general oversight of all aspects of the operations of the fund, and ensuring that the fund is managed in compliance with the act and all other applicable laws.

The Head of State also commended the members of the PAOC and Investment Committees.
The PAOC membership includes one person appointed by the National Assembly, three representatives of religious organisations, two representatives from the private sector, two representatives from the trade union sector, and one representative of the professions.

The members of the PAOC appointed on Tuesday were Clement Sealey, who is also the Chairman; Wendell Jeffery, Abu Zaman, Ryan Alexander, Dawn Gardener, Aslim Singh, and Teni Housty. The other members of the PAOC, Desmond Sears and Savitri Balbahadur were not present at the ceremony, as they were out of the jurisdiction.
For the Investment Committee, Chairperson Shaleeza Shaw, along with members Michael Munroe and Richard Rambarran were appointed. Member Lauris Hukumchand was also not present, due to being overseas.

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