GUYANA’s new Finance Minister under the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) government will be appointed before the end of 2020, according to Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo.

Though several Ministers were appointed since August, days after President Irfaan Ali’s inauguration, a Minister of Finance was not appointed. Without a Finance Minister, the Office of the President has assumed responsibility for the sector.

“We are hoping to name somebody soon,” the Vice-President said on Monday, in an interview with the Guyana Chronicle. He later added that the appointment of the Minister “would be long before the end of the year.”

The Vice-President also assured that President Ali was considering a number of persons for the position.

In August, President Ali said the post of Finance Minister remains critical and explained that more “critical” appointments will be made soon. Vice-President Jagdeo, who is a former President and served as Finance Minister from 1995-1999, has been providing advisory services in the finance sector to the Ali administration.

The position of a Minister of Finance in Guyana is a critical one as that person is charged with oversight of the country’s finance sector and on government’s spending. A key function of the Finance Minister is to oversee the preparation of the annual, national budget and present it to the National Assembly, where it will be debated before its passage.

In September, an emergency budget- the first national budget for 2020- was passed. It was presented by Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, but the Vice-President was the one who provided assistance in crafting that $330 billion budget.