Government yesterday down played the transfer of the US$18 million signing bonus from a special account to the Consolidated Fund, with Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency Joseph Harmon saying that it was determined by Minister of Finance Winston Jordan that the time was appropriate.
“What the minister said was that it would be placed in the Consolidated Fund at the appropriate time. I believe now, based on what is happening with our budget, what is happening with the nearing of first of oil in Guyana, what is happening with the fact that we have established and made law the SWF [Sovereign Wealth Fund]—it is now an Act of parliament—that it is the opinion of the honourable minister that it is indeed a correct time for that funds to be placed in the Consolidated Fund,” Harmon said when asked about the decision.
The Transparency Institute of Guyana Inc (TIGI) recently reiterated its position that the US$18 million signing bonus, which was received from ExxonMobil, should have been in the Consolidated Fund and that there was a clear breach of the constitutional provisions when it was not placed there.