Guyana’s Natural Resources Fund will not be used to bankroll the $330 billion emergency budget, according to Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, who has said that the supporting legislation would have to be amended to strengthen accountability and transparency.
At a press conference hosted by him and President Irfaan Ali on Monday, Jagdeo said that the planned approach is in keeping with their manifesto promises and he signaled that the new PPP/C government will table the amendment next year.
His comments were made in response to questions from the media on whether the fund would be used as a part of this year’s emergency budget, which is to be presented to the National Assembly today by Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill.
Jagdeo explained that while the emergency budget is larger than the 2019 budget, much of the money has already been spent by the former APNU+AFC government.
Meanwhile, President Ali, while commenting on the fund, said his government is aiming to ensure that there will transparency and accountability when it comes to using it. He stated that his administration is ensuring that the systems and institutions are in place before they utilise any resources while ensuring this is done in an open and transparent way so that there is no secrecy behind the use of any resources.
