-Dr. Singh also presents sixth notification of petroleum revenues paid into fund

SENIOR Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, on Thursday, presented to the National Assembly, the inaugural Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Annual Report for the fiscal year 2022, pursuant to Section 32(4) of the Natural Resource Fund Act 2021.

According to a release from the Finance Ministry, Minister Singh acknowledged the work done by the NRF Board, Public Accountability and Oversight Committee and the Investment Committee, and “commended, on behalf of the government and the people of Guyana, the sterling work that is being done by this first board of directors and the two respective committees in setting up for the very first time, the governance architecture for this brand new but extremely important national institution – The Natural Resource Fund.”

The NRF Act 2021, came into operation on January 1, 2022, replacing the illegitimate NRF Act 2019 passed by the APNU+AFC administration, and represents one of the most significant steps taken to bring greater accountability and transparency in the management of Guyana’s oil resources.

The NRF Act 2021 contains several enhanced clauses, including the establishment of a board which will be responsible for reviewing and approving the policies of the Fund and monitoring its performance, thereby separating the management of the Fund from the Minister responsible for Finance.

Major General (Retired) Joseph Singh, MSS, Chairperson and directors Dunstan Barrow, A.A., (Nominated by the National Assembly); Ramesh Dookhoo (Representative of the Private Sector); Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett and Professor Compton Bourne, O.E., are the members of the board who were appointed by President Dr. Irfaan Ali on August 30, 2022.

At Thursday’s sitting, the Speaker of the National Assembly also circulated the Public Accountability and Oversight Committee Annual Report for the fiscal year 2022, pursuant to Section 6(6) of the Natural Resource Fund Act 2021, the release said.

It said that pursuant to Section 6 of the Natural Resource Fund Act 2021, the Public Accountability and Oversight Committee of the Fund was appointed August 30, 2022 and the members are Clement Sealey, Chairperson (Nominee of the National Assembly) and members Pastor Wendell Jeffrey (Representative of the Religious Community); Savitri Balbahadur (Representative of the Religious Community); Abu Zaman (Representative of the Religious Community); Mr. Desmond Sears (Representative of the Private Sector); Ryan Alexander (Representative of the Private Sector); Aslim Singh, Member (Representative of Organised Labour); Dawn Gardener Representative of Organised Labour) and Teni Housty, Member (Representative of the Professions).

This nine-member committee is responsible for providing non-governmental oversight of the operations of the Fund, replacing the cumbersome 22-member committee previously proposed in the NRF Act 2019, the release explained.

The finance minister, on Thursday, also presented the Notification of Receipts to the National Assembly of all petroleum revenues paid into the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) during the period April 1, 2023 to June 30, 2023, pursuant to Section 33 (2) of the NRF Act 2021.

“It would be recalled, one of the key amendments in the proposed legislation is that the Minister could face up to 10 years imprisonment if he fails to disclose the receipt of any petroleum revenue received by government in the Official Gazette within three months of receipt of such monies,” the ministry said in a release.

Another key improvement of the NRF Act 2021 was that not only did it require the Government to seek Parliamentary approval for withdrawals from the fund, but it also sets out new, simplified calculations needed for ensuring that the Fund achieves its purposes.

“In line with this requirement, in 2022, a total of US$607.6 million was withdrawn from the FUND and a further US$1,002.1 million is projected to be withdrawn this year. Government will continue to work aggressively through sound and transformative investments of oil resources from the NRF,” the release said.