IMF helping Guyana build capacity to manage oil proceeds

Jul 21, 2017 News

With Guyana shifting into position to start oil production in 2020, its ability to properly manage the proceeds is expected to see a significant boost, now that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is here to provide a helping hand.
Minister of State Joseph Harmon, during the weekly post-Cabinet press briefing at the Ministry of the Presidency in Georgetown, told media operatives yesterday that the team is here providing technical assistance and advice to government with regards to building capacity to manage the monies that will come from the sector.
The delegation, he said, came here following a request made to the organisation by the Finance Minister, Winston Jordan.
Harmon said that Cabinet met the team recently and was informed of the delegation’s mission here.
The Minister said that the Mission Leader informed government that Guyana had become eligible for assistance from the IMF under a donor-funded trust fund.
The team is also expected to carry out a scoping assessment of government’s policy direction.
That assessment, Harmon explained, will enable the IMF to determine the areas in which assistance could be provided.
The Minister noted also that the team will meet with persons and agencies involved in managing revenues from the sector.
Further, a note providing the details of the IMF assessment and forms of assistance will be presented to the government at the end of the mission.
The team’s presence here would come three months after the Executive Board of the IMF concluded its Article IV consultation with Guyana.
Under this article, the organisation holds bilateral discussions with members usually every year, where a staff team visits the country, collects economic and financial information, and discusses with state officials the country’s economic developments and policies.
On return to headquarters, the staff prepares a report, which forms the basis for discussion by the IMF’s Executive Board.
The IMF Directors upon reviewing that compiled report, lauded the government’s plans to establish a comprehensive framework for managing its upcoming oil wealth, and stressed the importance of having a transparent and rules-based framework in place before production begins.
The IMF is an international organization comprised of 189 countries working together to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.

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