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AFC Govt. will share oil wealth with Guyanese through direct cash transfers- Nigel Hughes
…promises to establish Petroleum Commission, hire int’l firm to review award of NPTAB contracts
: Leader of the Alliance For Change, Nigel Hughes addressing the Townhall Meeting in Queens, New York
Kaieteur News- Three-month-old Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Nigel Hughes on Sunday revealed the party’s plans to improve the lives of Guyanese within its first 100 days in office, if successful at the upcoming elections.
With National Elections likely to be held in November 2025, the party hosted a Townhall Meeting in Queens, New York to engage its supporters in the diaspora.
Hughes was engaging the audience in a question-and-answer segment when he was asked to share the party’s plans to improve the lives of Guyanese within its first 100 days in office. The party’s leader did not hesitate to highlight firstly that a Petroleum Commission would be established with the requisite experts to manage the sector.
He went on to explain, “In terms of immediate money to Guyanese, whether we call it cash transfer or whatever you call it, pick the five best economists you can in the Caribbean, let them identify what the country can meet before and have that money directly transferred by statute to the citizens.”
Since Guyana started producing oil in 2019, the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) has received total deposits of US$4.8B, as at the end of June 2024. Presently, three Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessels (FPSOs) are operating offshore. The operator of the Stabroek Block, ExxonMobil Guyana, produces on average 650,000 barrels of oil per day.
Earlier in the meeting during his opening remarks, Hughes pointed out that the country was now better positioned economically, compared to where it was prior to the commencement of oil production by Exxon. He explained, “the problem for Guyana today is not whether we have the financial resources. It is how we actually plan and create a truly democratic, modern Guyana in which every single citizen not only plays a role, not only has a vested interest but gets an equal share and an equal opportunity to participate in the country.”
The issue of direct cash transfers to Guyanese, using the proceeds garnered from the oil and gas sector has often been the subject of debate. The current administration has dismissed the possibility of direct cash transfers to citizens from the Natural Resource Fund (NRF), urging that this move would not be sustainable. While some sections of society support direct cash transfers, other factors such as overheating of the economy was also previously raised.
Nevertheless, to provide immediate assistance to the population, Hughes noted that businesses, especially those owned by women, will have access to capital at globally competitive rates. These firms will also enjoy guidance on their business plans.
Importantly on the leader’s agenda is an international probe into the award of contracts. Hughes sent a strong signal indicating, “the message has to be sent that you cannot plunder the country and take its resources and get away free; and because we are ethnically divided, we do not ask the locals to investigate, we hire one of the best international forensic auditing firms to come in and pick the five most egregious contract awards and hire again, international council to be able to prosecute them. That message has to be sent early.”
The AFC leader also pointed to the need for a National Development Commission with experts to gather data in developing a 10 to 15 year development plan. He added, “In terms of immediately, if we win, the first thing that I would change constitutionally immediately is to say look, we need a broad-based, national front government to address Guyana’s future. There is no point in winning and gloating if half the population or a third of the population are not on board. So, I will immediately engage all the major political actors with a view of forming a government that can address our immediate issues.”
(AFC Govt. will share oil wealth with Guyanese through direct cash transfers- Nigel Hughes)
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