Guyanese quarrel over NRF escalates as budget debate continues

 


Guyanese Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd, defending the 2025 budget in the nation’s National Assembly indicates that between 2020 and 2023, Guyana’s exports increased by 285 per cent, moving from US$2.8 billion to US$10.8 billion.

This was due to a 106 per cent improvement in non-oil exports according to reporting by newsroom.gy on January 30, 2025.

The Caribbean nation , meanwhile, is embattled as the governments plan to withdraw over US$2 billion from the Natural Resources Fund which is funded by oil revenues, for budgetary support.

Jamil Changlee, writing in Stabroek News on January 30 pointed to a possible “illegal” level of withdrawal for the new budget period.

Guyana’s Natural Resource Fund (NRF) is projected to exceed $3 billion USD at the end of 2024. Government meanwhile reported in Guyana approximately $2.4 billion USD in earnings from the oil and gas sector during 2024.

The current 2025 budget plans to withdraw an amount from the NRF that is of similar magnitude. However, according to the NRF Act’s First Schedule, the maximum that can be withdrawn is significantly less.

Based on the First Schedule of the NRF Act, the maximum contribution that may be made from the oil and gas sector to this year’s budget is $1.29 Billion USD.

Changlee in the Stabroek News article said that the authorities would investigate, “If wrongdoing is found to have occurred in the surpassing of the withdrawal ceiling as established in the NRF Act.

The government meanwhile is pointing to how well Guyana is doing economically. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd, as reported in newsroom.gy, said that trade with the country’s major extra-regional partners increased significantly.

“Exports to the United States and Canada expanded by US$6.2 billion and US$385 billion, respectively. The growth of our exports to the United Kingdom and the European Union have also been exponential, increasing by US$747 million and US$2.2 billion during that period,” he said.

Newsroom.gy reported that he outlined how exports to non-traditional markets have also “ increased substantially with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Singapore and India being ranked among Guyana’s top ten export destinations. Since 2020, exports to these countries have grown by US$2.1 billion.”

The Minister boasted, “The agriculture and food systems sector in Guyana is being repositioned and transformed into an expanded, diversified, modernised, resilient and competitive sector. Moreover, Guyana has emerged as a leader in CARICOM, being the lead head with responsibility for agriculture, agricultural diversification and food security within the CARICOM Quasi-Cabinet,” he said.

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