Jagdeo’s statement on showing how oil money is spent “the most reckless admission of gross disregard to the prudent management” of Guyana – Hughes

Dec 07, 2024 News

---

Kaieteur News- Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Nigel Hughes, on Friday during the party’s weekly press conference, issued a scathing statement in response to the explanation provided by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, on government’s failure to account for the use of the country’s oil revenue.

Jagdeo said on Thursday that itemizing the expenditure from oil money would be difficult and went on to highlight the steps taken by government to ensure transparency in the use of the resources.

He reasoned, “How do you balkanize revenue coming into the budget? (It) becomes a very difficult thing to do; so, where the transparency is done, transparency is that every cent spent from oil money, from non-oil revenue and from borrowing, has to be appropriated by the National Assembly through a Budgetary Appropriation Process, whether it is the original Budget or through Supplementary Budgets which then form an appropriation act or a supplementary appropriation act, which itemizes all of the expenditure of the state and how much is going to be spent…”.

For his part, Hughes quoted a letter by Dr. Terrence Campbell (published in today’s edition of the Kaieteur News) highlighting the failure of the Investment Committee to perform its functions, as outlined in the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Act of 2021.

In a section of the letter, as quoted by Hughes, Dr. Campbell, the Opposition’s representative on the Investment Committee said he was shocked to read Jagdeo’s comments that “balkanization of revenues” in the Consolidated Fund would make it difficult to show how NRF funds were being spent.

He explained, “a little over a month ago I began pressing internally for the Board of the Fund to demand the justification for withdrawals from the fund in accordance with section 16 subsection 2 and subsections (a) and (b).”

These subsections specify that withdrawals must be for national development priorities and or essential projects to ameliorate the effects of a natural disaster. Dr. Campbell said his request was met with stout resistance, even in the face of threats to initiate litigation.

“In essence, the Board signs a blank cheque with each withdrawal. This effectively reduces the Board to a rubber stamp and the Public Accountability and Oversight Committee, which is supposed to provide oversight, to a white elephant,” the Committee member concluded.

To this end, Hughes said this was perhaps the most disturbing news he read for the month, as there is essentially no scrutiny of the resources meant for future generations, by the Investment Committee.

“If we really sit down and think what that means, in other words, this has now become a slush fund, a facilitating entity that literally carries out the government’s bidding when in effect the primary responsibility is to overlook exactly what the government is doing with our money, our asset, our investment and attempting to stop them, interrogate them,” the lawyer stated.

In the absence of adequate oversight, coupled with the excuse proffered by Jagdeo, Hughes argued that it is likely that the country’s resources would be diverted for political purposes.

The Leader of the AFC called for the members of the Oversight Committee to indicate what methodologies they have used to interrogate the government’s application for spending, state the professional advice they have sought before approving government expenditure and outline the methodologies that they have deployed regarding the country’s wealth.

Hughes said, “Think of the most profound statement made by Mr. Jagdeo yesterday (Thursday) which essentially says showing how oil money would be spent would be difficult…this is the most reckless admission of the gross disregard to the prudent management of this country.”

The AFC Leader added that Jagdeo labeled the Opposition as obstructionists, affecting the efficiency of the government, which means they do not deserve to be appointed to examine and oversee the actions of the government.

He said Jagdeo’s idea of efficiency is the movement of funds from the NRF to the Consolidated Fund to allow spending in a manner where he is unable to give account. In fact, Hughes argued, “All he wants is that to be done very quickly so the friends, families and favourites of the PPP can continue to benefit from this money as efficiently as they want to get it, particularly coming up to an election year.”

Hughes made it clear that the “squandermania” by the regime must not be allowed to continue.

(Jagdeo’s statement on showing how oil money is spent “the most reckless admission of gross disregard to the prudent management” of Guyana – Hughes)

(Jagdeo’s statement)

---

• Hughes, NRF, oil, reckless, spent

---