Georgetown, Guyana.

January 12, 2024

For immediate release to all media houses.

PRESS RELEASE

NATURAL RESOURCES FUND VS. CONSOLIDATED FUND – Khemraj Ramjattan MP

The Alliance For Change AFC has noted the debate between A G Nandlall SC and Mr. Christopher Ram concerning the Natural Resource Fund, NRF and what revenues should not be in it, and the Consolidated Fund and what revenues should be in it, from the receipts of Guyana’s share of the oil monies consequent upon the 2016 PSA.

There is undoubtedly a misapprehension if not an incomprehension by the Government’s Chief Legal adviser on the issue. The AFC commends Mr. Ram for bringing clarity to the public on the matter; and, to force an understanding into the Learned AG when a series of questions were posed to him. These questions are still to be answered by the AG who has surpringly gone non-responsive.

As is correctly posited by Mr. Ram, the NRF is a sovereign wealth fund created under a special separate law to govern, manage, invest and use our oil revenues. This fund has a completely different structure and purpose from the Consolidated Fund which is effectively the operating Fund for the financial operations of Ministries, Departments, and Budget agencies and managed by public servants in a decentralised framework.

Since the payment of the taxes for Exxon must be paid out of the revenues from the Guyana Government, pursuant to the terms of the 2016 PSA, and since this Government believes in sanctity of contract, it necessarily follows that the corporate taxes must be paid to GRA and placed into the Consolidated Fund. This payment thus lessens the amount received into the NRF. Our Consolidated Fund is increased to the extent of that amount.

The point as to where public monies should be deposited was apparently missed by the AG.

The AFC wishes to remind that section 38(1) of the FMAA2003 provides:

“All public monies raised or received by the Government shall be credited fully and promptly to the Consolidated Fund, except—

1. a) Monies credited to an Extra budgetary Fund as stipulated in the enabling legislation establishing that Fund;
2. b) ……..
3. c) ……..”

This statutory provision accords with article 216 of the Constitution which provides: “All monies or other monies raised or received by Guyana( not being revenues or other monies that are payable, by or under an Act of Parliament, into some other fund established for any specific purpose or that may, by or under such an Act, be retained by the authority that received them for the purpose of defraying the expenses of that authority) shall be paid into and form one Consolidated Fund.”

The AFC asserts that the NRF and the Consolidated Fund are thus separate things. So the oil company corporate taxes paid by the Government to the GRA must be sent to the Consolidated Fund. The rest of the oil earnings must go to the NRF.

So the supremacy of the law on this situation must lie in the Constitution (article 216) and the specific section 38(1) of the FMAA 2003 rather that the NRF, as erroneously argued by the AG.

The act of leaving the revenues of in the NRF fattens this Fund to the corresponding thinning to the Consolidated Fund.

Since the NRF is to be only used as per section 16(2) of the NRF to finance “national development priorities” and “major national disasters”, this NRF will continued to be abused as the Government will declare any contract to its friends and family as national development priorities. There is thus a method to the madness of overstating the NRF to the extent of an equivalent understatement of the Consolidated Fund.

BUDGET 2024 AND THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE PEOPLE – Juretha Fernandes MP

Like every other budget, under every government, the upcoming budget – this being the 2024 budget will be the largest ever. However, for the first time in the history of Guyana the budget is expected to be over 1 trillion dollars. This expectation is based on the fact that in addition to the budgeted expenditure of $781, 880, 963, 000 the PPP government submitted five additional financial papers for the year 2023 that totaled $118, 231, 927, 947 bringing the year to an end with a total approved sum of $900, 112, 890, 947.

Of the $900 billion dollars, we are yet to see the commencement of several projects, some projects are merely now seeing the sod being turned and for the projects that have start there are numerous public outcry about the poor standard of work being carried out by the friends and family contractors associated with the PPP Government.

Of the $118 billion additional sums approved during the year, 2023 ended without numerous projects starting. For example, 2023 ended without the Bartica Potaro Road being started after monies were approved in the National Assembly on August 9th 2023. This is just one example of what is to be expected after large sums of monies continues to be budgeted, and approved in the National Assembly.

WHAT THE PEOPLE EXPECT FROM BUDGET 2024

The enthusiasm that Guyanese had for the first oil budget has deflated over the years as the PPP administration continue to present budget after budget with no real tangible benefit to the ordinary man and woman. However, Guyanese still have basic expectations from the government for budget 2024.

Among these expectations Guyanese expect

• Free Education from Nursery to University, as is constitutionally stipulated
• Increase in the income tax threshold to $150, 000
• Increase in the minimum wage by 50%, and associated adjustment along the public and private sector.
• Reduction in vat
• Increase in old age pension $70, 000
• An increase in budgeted allocation to GECOM to cater for a more superior system that includes but not limited to biometrics.
• Remove the cost of residential house lots
• Significantly investment in national security
• Equitable adjustment and increase in cost of living allowance
• Investment in provision of Public Transportation
• Reduction in the interest rate for home owners
• Increase subvention to NDC and Town Council that will not be subjected to central government directive
• Monetary provisions for first time home builders.

Those expectations are certainly reasonable for the nation to expect given the expected trillion-dollar budget.

Additionally, with more money being budgeted for expenditure, the opposition expects to be given more time in the consideration of the estimates, as it is unreasonable to expect any real scrutiny of a budget over one trillion dollars to be done within the same time frame that was used to scrutinize $200 billion budgets.

Those are some of the reasonable expectations of budget 2024, but like every other Guyanese, we will not hold our breath as the PPP Government continues to fail the nation with regards to bettering the lives of every Guyanese and not just a selected few.

END.

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