The following is the full text of a statement from the Ministry of Natural Resources:
“THE Ministry of Natural Resources wishes to clarify a most devious publication in the September 30 edition of the Kaieteur News headlined: “Oil cash handouts will leave Guyana poorer” -Minister Bharrat.
Unsurprisingly, the news agency misrepresented and twisted the intention of the minister’s comments regarding the government’s approach to cash transfers during an interview on a local podcast, Starting Point.
The minister noted that cash transfers are typically a failed model since there are numerous examples around the world which show that sole dependence on this measure results in poor outcomes, as it is unsustainable, given volatile market forces and the irrefutable fact that oil does not last forever.
Specifically, around 48 minutes into the interview, the minister clarified his position that “…it has been a failed model among countries around the world if that is the only way we intend to spend oil revenue. But Guyanese would have benefited already from direct cash transfers.”
The minister even made it a point to note early on in the interview that the approach of the government has been to subsidise massive costs pertaining to social development and welfare.
This includes the removal of tuition of tertiary education fees, support for parents with newborns and cash grants which cover uniforms and school supplies.
That Kaieteur News would include the minister’s clarification in the second paragraph of its story, but still proceed to blast a headline with a twisted line of reporting is explicit proof that journalistic ethics have become alien to this propaganda outfit.
The ministry unreservedly condemns this putrid piece of reporting, which aims to misinform the public and besmirch the integrity of the government’s strategy for prudent oil sector management.
“The Ministry of Natural Resources also takes this moment to reiterate its support for the minister’s position which is summed up as follows: cash transfers are not the only or the most important mechanism in the government’s arsenal to transfer oil sector benefits; and secondly, total dependence on cash transfers, and to encourage massive grants at this time, is a recipe for harm to our productive sectors.”