Minister of State Joseph Harmon yesterday said that the US$18 million signing bonus received from ExxonMobil will be deposited into the Consolidated Fund before being used to pay Guyana’s World Court representatives.
The statement follows months of condemnation of the APNU+AFC government for placing the bonus in a Bank of Guyana account rather than the Consolidated Fund. Several lawsuits have been filed to force the government to channel the money to the Consolidated Fund.
Speaking at yesterday’s post-cabinet press briefing, Harmon noted that the monies belong to Guyana and that the “bonus, wherever it is would be placed into the Consolidated Fund and it is from that fund that any team whatsoever will be paid whether they are working or worked before or work after.”