De facto Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan has said that Guyana will over the next few months have to reprioritize the use of its financial resources and possibly access the Natural Resources Fund as it copes with the impact of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).
During an interview with the Depart-ment of Public Information (DPI) he reiterated that government is working to establish a database of the vulnerable to facilitate a strategy for short, medium and long- term economic support but noted that the current “political hurdle” will have to be cleared before any sort of stimulus package is offered.
The hurdle referenced is the fact the Guyana’s governance has been in a holding pattern since March 2 when General and Regional Elections were held. Seven weeks after these elections the results have not been declared and the National Assembly has not been constituted. Elements within GECOM have been accused of trying to rig the elections in favour of the incumbent APNU+AFC and a recount is to be done.
Jordan stressed that the open-ended nature of the current global crisis makes drafting a policy response challenging but government is planning with “a certain period in mind”.
He explained that with domestic resources being eroded by tax waivers and other measures already being offered to reduce the disease’s impact, government will likely be turning to other revenue streams.
Asked if one such stream could be the Natural Resource Fund (NRF), Jordan noted that withdrawal from the fund would requires Parliamentary approval and an amendment to the NRF Act.
Currently Section 22(2) of the Act limits withdrawal from the fund to national development priorities and essential projects that are directly related to ameliorating the effect of a natural disaster.
Operating from the premise that a new government will be in power within two weeks, Jordan said that government can approach the Assembly to have the Act amended to include a ‘pandemic’ among the criteria for withdrawal. It is unclear how long the recount of votes will take but it will certainly be longer than two weeks.
“I think in one day we can suspend the business and pass the amendment,” he said.
Currently the NRF has approximately US$54.9 million which has been earned from the sale of Guyana’s first oil shipment.
Jordan lamented this sum noting that with the recent drop in oil prices the monies so far earned have been “disappointing”.
