Finance Ministry accelerates training, recruiting to serve oil sector

Oct 04, 2018 News

Finance Minister, Winston Jordan

…staff to access World Bank training for first time

The Ministry of Finance, which will play a pivotal role in the fiscal management matters in the oil sector, is said to be pressing ahead with training and hiring of staff in key departments.
“The Ministry of Finance in preparing for its new role and responsibilities in the oil and gas sector has to quickly build capacity,” the Ministry indicated.
The Ministry stated that it is aggressively recruiting and training persons. According to the Ministry, three employees from critical departments have secured scholarships to pursue Masters Degrees in the United Kingdom.
Upon their return next year, the Ministry noted that they will be joined by two other employees who will graduate from Universities in China and Japan.
In January 2019, another employee will be sent to the World Bank; the first time that Guyana has qualified for this training.
“We are optimistic that the Ministry will be better positioned and more equipped to manage Guyana’s economy as we progress towards first oil,” the Ministry pointed out.
Nearly two years after the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) was signed with ExxonMobil, and with first oil expected in 2020, Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan had admitted that Guyana had to build capacity.
Government had faced continued criticism about its inability to audit ExxonMobil’s cost recovery claims, particularly the pre-contract cost – US$460M, which was built into the 2016 PSA signed with Government.
Minister Jordan had also indicated that the Government was facing another problem of finding money to undertake the necessary training for the sector. The Ministry is also faced with ensuring that Guyana’s economy can withstand shocks in the economy through diversification programmes.
In June, the World Bank had approved a US$35 million Development Policy Credit to Guyana. This sum is expected to support Guyana’s efforts to strengthen financial sector development and fiscal management to better prepare to transform its oil wealth into human capital.
While currently nearly one in four people in Guyana live in poverty, experts estimate that GDP will surge when commercial production of newly-discovered oil and gas begins. In response, the government has embarked on a series of reforms to diversify the economy and turn oil windfalls into human development and sustainable growth in the long term.
The World Bank had said that the money will go towards enabling sound financial development to promote macroeconomic stability and long-term growth. In particular, the money will support banking reforms and depositor protection, the establishment of a deposit insurance scheme, implementation of a new insurance law, and the country’s anti-money laundering efforts.