Last updated on Sunday 26 December 2021, 17:36 by Denis Chabrol

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo and National People’s Congress (PNCR) reform leader Aubrey Norton disagree over a proposal to drastically cut a parliamentary committee to monitor Guyana’s oil revenues.

Mr Norton said the 22-member public accountability and oversight committee provided for in the existing natural resource fund law represents many interests to ensure that oil revenues are not spent haphazardly but in critical areas for the development of Guyana.

The new natural resources law that has been tabled would provide for a nine-member oversight committee, which the PNCR chief said indicated that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) administration “does not like systems of control”. “They don’t believe that people should be involved in what is going on with oil money,” he said, adding that his party would oppose these amendments on the need to build intergenerational wealth at from the oil and gas sector. He accused the Irfaan Ali administration of having paved the way for PPP “con artists” to “loot” and “loot” oil revenues by amending the bill.

The current 22-member Public Accountability and Oversight Committee includes representatives of civil society, women and youth, all of whom will be appointed by a consortium of civil society and community organizations.
organizations; Bars of Guyana; Guyana Consumers Association; Guyana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative; Guyana Transparency Institute Inc; ; Guyanese Press Association; the most representative trade union associations; Guyana Institute of Chartered Accountants; Private Sector Commission; one representative from each of the 10 regional councils and one candidate from academia appointed by the board of directors of the University of Guyana.

But the new bill on the Natural Resources Fund provides for a public accountability and monitoring committee of nine members including one from the National Assembly, three from the religious community, two from the private sector, two from the trade union movement; and a representative of the professions.

Speaking at a breakfast in honor of the Private Sector Commission, Jagdeo said many of the 22 members of the parliamentary oversight committee for the existing National Resources Fund law are organizations practically non-existent without any constituency. “It is almost impossible to have an oversight body with 22 members in civil society and we have now replaced it with around nine or ten people from parliament so that the opposition has a say,” he said. he declares.

The bill does not expressly state that the opposition will be represented on the parliamentary oversight committee, but the leader of the opposition will have the right to appoint a representative to the investment committee.

The Investment Committee and the Minister of Finance would be required to submit reports to the National Assembly, he said, adding that the opposition would be represented on the Investment Committee and in the parliamentary debate for spending.

Quoting the Policy Development Forum’s petition to the National Assembly to stop debate and passage of the Natural Resources Fund bill, he said the petitioners were politicians and others were members of “Straw organizations”.

He identified the private sector and labor organizations as “key stakeholders” with constituencies, unlike those that have no constituencies and elected government but are much louder and are taken seriously in Guyana and the United States. ‘foreigner. “Often they help to create that international vision of the country which is far from the reality of the real situation in our country and they can influence not only the path of development but the environment in which we grow up,” he said. declared.

The existing law on the Natural Resources Fund, he said, gives the finance minister direct oversight over the fund and he appoints and appoints the chairman of the macroeconomic committee and he sets up the budget committee and is solely responsible. determine how much money can be withdrawn. Instead, Jagdeo said the new system would allow the “most transparent system” to transfer funds.

In the new bill, he said the president rather than the finance minister would be responsible for appointing a board of directors to manage the fund. This council, he said, would include a representative of the private sector and the participation of parliament.

Seeking to push back claims that the administration led by Irfan Ali raided the Natural Resources Fund, Jagdeo said “every penny” that would be used to fund projects would be included in the national budget and would be debated. in the National Assembly. “Every activity that will be financed by money put into the budget will now be debated in the National Assembly, so that the opposition will have parliamentary control over spending,” he said.

The vice president urged the PSC not to slavishly support the government, but to assess where the going is in its favor and make its voice heard.