Latest update February 6th, 2025 7:27 AM
Oil benefits must pass on to all sectors of society
– President Ali in Independence Address
President, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, delivers the 55th Independence Anniversary address.
Kaieteur News – Guyana today observes its 55th Anniversary as an independent nation, and with its newfound oil wealth, is on the cusp of unprecedented economic prosperity. To this end, Head of State, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, has adopted the position that, “we cannot be a nation that produces oil and gas, earning considerable sums from it, without passing on the benefits to all sectors of our society.” As such, the Administration is exploring ways to begin spending some of Guyana’s earnings from the sale of its oil.
He gave the pronouncement last evening at the annual Flag Raising observances at Kingston, Georgetown, in the vicinity of the Umana Yana, with the Appeal Court, the Guyana Marine Turtle Monument, Pegasus and Marriott International Hotels serving as a backdrop.
Addressing those in attendance for the scaled down version of the flag raising activities, in keeping with ‘some level’ of COVID-19 restrictions, Dr. Ali used the occasion to disclose that his Administration, since taking office, has been examining the utilisation of Guyana’s earnings from its oil sector.
The country has so far US$327M accumulated in the US Federal Reserve Bank in New York, accounting for earnings from the sale of Guyana’s share of oil in the Stabroek Block, along with royalties paid since production began in December 2019.
That account, a type of sovereign wealth fund, is named the Natural Resources Fund, and is governed by the Natural Resources Fund Act, a piece of legislation passed under the David Granger presidency and criticised by the Dr. Ali administration as inadequate and to be reformed.
Qualifying his announcement with regards spending the oil earnings, Dr. Ali said, the cost of electricity must be reduced for both businesses and household consumption, “therefore, [the] Government is carefully considering mechanisms by which the cost of energy can be reduced across our society by utilising an appropriate percentage of our national earnings from oil and gas to do so.”
The Head of State said, “These mechanisms will be presented to the Nation through the appropriate bodies for endorsement.”
He was adamant that, “the bottom line is that domestic consumers must be given relief and businesses should be rendered more competitive.”
According to President Ali, “our financial resources must be utilised to improve the quality of life for all our communities.”
He had earlier lamented that a number of sectors in the country were adversely affected by the high cost of energy, which has had its own concomitant effects on the cost of doing business, and earning foreign exchange for the country generally.
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