Senior Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh has announced that the government has made its second drawdown this year from the Natural Resource Fund in accordance with the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Act 2021.
The Minister indicated that pursuant to Section 16 of the NRF Act 2021, a further US$200 million, equivalent to $41.6 billion, has been transferred from the Natural Resource Fund to the Consolidated Fund to finance national development priorities.
It would be recalled that in February of this year, the government made its first withdrawal for the year, amounting to US$200 million, equivalent to $41.6 billion. This brings the accumulated withdrawals to date in 2023 from the NRF to US$400 million, equivalent to $83.2 billion.
In keeping with the NRF Act 2021, as part of the Budget 2023 process, Parliamentary approval was granted for a total of US$1.002 billion to be transferred during the fiscal year 2023.
The NRF Act 2021, which came into operation on January 1, 2022, represents a significant improvement in transparency and accountability and overall management of Guyana’s natural resource wealth.
“The PPP/C Government will continue to work aggressively through sound and transformative investments of oil resources from the NRF, utilising these resources in a clear and transparent manner, to the benefit of present and future generations,” the Ministry said.
