Several safeguards in place for use of NRF funds – Jagdeo

…in spite of Opposition’s unwillingness to be on committees

While the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) has not meaningfully contributed to either the Petroleum Activities Bill, or fulfilled their oversight role of the Natural Resource Fund, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has assured that there are safeguards in place for using the revenues from the NRF.
The Natural Resource Fund Act (2021) provides for the Opposition to nominate someone to sit on the committees overseeing the fund. However, the Opposition has shown a reluctance to nominate anyone and have even tried to overturn the Bill, albeit unsuccessfully, through the courts.
“The Natural Resource Fund Act provides for a nominee on the oversight body. And they should be there, because that body has an important role to play. Ultimately, I think they’re figuring it out. Because on many matters, they would not live up to their responsibility of a constructive Opposition to give their comments on Bills,” Jagdeo said during a recent press conference.
“They would say, let’s wait on Parliament. We’re tabling the Petroleum Activities Bill. So, let’s see what amendment they will propose there, because they said they will give their comments on the floor of Parliament. We’ve been trying to get them to give comments before, so we can incorporate and assess whether their comments will add value to the draft before we table it in Parliament.”
According to the Vice President, the Opposition has chosen an approach where they stand on the sidelines and criticise, rather than contributing to the formation of Bills such as the Petroleum Activities Bill. Despite an over two-week period where Government invited submissions from the public to strengthen the Bill, none was submitted by the Opposition.
Jagdeo noted that while the Opposition is yet to take up its seats on the committees overseeing the NRF, they will nevertheless get a chance to scrutinise the fund when Government tables reports on the fund’s management in the National Assembly.
“There are several safeguards, regardless of whether (the Opposition) is there or not. There are two reports that have to go to the National Assembly for debate. And so, whether they’re part of the Bill or not, I think they will get a chance to have their say in the National Assembly, when the reports go on the use and the state of the funds,” Jagdeo explained.
The NRF Fund Board consists of five members, while the Public Accountability and Oversight Committee (PAOC) is comprised of nine members, and the Investment Committee, seven members. The Act which was passed by the PPP/C in 2021, provides for the Opposition to submit nominees for the Public Accountability and Oversight and the Investment Committees.
As far back as September 2022, however, Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton had said during one of his press conferences that while the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Opposition had identified persons to take up positions on the various committees to overlook the NRF, it was withholding its nominations until the court made a ruling on its challenge to the legality of the passage of the NRF Act.
The Opposition had gone to court last year challenging the legality of the NRF Bill, contending that due to the absence of the parliamentary Mace – the most significant symbol in the National Assembly and some members not being seated – the Act could not be regarded as being lawfully passed.
The mace was of course absent because on the night of December 29, 2021, members of the APNU/AFC had grabbed the Mace from its position at the House Clerk’s desk and protested in a futile attempt to prevent the Natural Resource Fund Bill from being passed.
However, in June 2023 the High Court tossed out the Opposition’s case, with Justice Navindra Singh upholding the validity of the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Act and ruling that the presence, absence, or use of the Mace in the National Assembly is not provided for in the Constitution or Laws of Guyana.
Since passage of that legislation, Government has gone on to establish the Natural Resource Fund Board. Following parliamentary approval, the Government has made several withdrawals from the fund, amounting to tens of billions of dollars, which were transferred to the Consolidated Fund to finance national development priorities.
When it comes to the NRF Board, it is Chaired by Retired Major General Joe Singh. Other members of the Board are Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett; Private Sector Executive Ramesh Dookhoo; former People’s National Congress (PNC) parliamentarian Dunstan Barrow; and former Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Professor Compton Bourne. (G3)