MINISTER of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat, has assured citizens that Guyana’s oil revenues are protected by multiple layers of oversight, stressing that funds from the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) cannot be accessed without parliamentary approval.

Appearing recently on the Starting Point podcast, Bharrat said that the former legislation governing the fund—passed under the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) after its no-confidence motion defeat—was repealed in 2021 and replaced with stronger measures.
“The old bill didn’t make sense because it was passed by the APNU+AFC after they were defeated by a no-confidence motion, and gave the finance minister all the power to use the [NRF] account,” the minister said, adding: “We repealed it and passed a bill with stronger measures and better control, with proper oversight. And we did that just over a year after we got into government.”

Outlining the safeguards, Bharrat stated: “That Act will show you that there are only two ways in which money can flow out of the Natural Resource Fund. The revenue in this fund is not in a bank sitting somewhere in Guyana, because there is a misconception that the government has access to this money. It doesn’t work like that. It is in a reserve bank in the USA, and the only way money can flow out of that account is if you have approval from the National Assembly—you must have approval from Parliament.”
According to the minister, the first mechanism is through the national budget.

He said: “It [the budget] is debated for an entire week, during which ministers are cross-examined and questions are asked in Parliament. Then you have the Auditor General, who will check on expenses. Then you have the Public Accounts Committee in Parliament, which also checks on these expenses. So, there are many layers of safeguards to ensure transparency and accountability.”
The second, he noted, applies in the case of a national disaster, explaining: “The second way in which money can flow out of that account is if there is a natural disaster of national proportion, and we need revenue to restore our people to where they were before. And again, it must have parliamentary approval.”
Bharrat emphasised that revenues from the oil and gas industry are already benefitting citizens across Guyana.

He said: “Managing the sector and ensuring that the revenue that flows from it trickles down to the people is important. And we have seen that. Everywhere you look in the country, there is a concrete road, there is a new highway being built, there is a new bridge being built. There is something being done in all parts of Guyana. And it is not only in Region Four; it is the same in the hinterland communities.”

The Natural Resource Fund was established by the Natural Resource Fund Act 2021, to manage the natural resource wealth of Guyana for the present and future benefit of the people, and for the sustainable development of the country.

The objectives of the NRF are to: ensure that volatility in natural resource revenues do not lead to volatile public spending; ensure that natural resource revenues do not lead to a loss of economic competitiveness; fairly transfer natural resource wealth across generations to ensure that future generations benefit from natural resource wealth; and use natural resource wealth to finance national development priorities, including any initiative aimed at realising an inclusive green economy.