President dodges questions on his appointees to Natural Resource Fund board

Irfaan Ali

With criticism mounting over his powers of appointment to the controversial Natural Resource Fund (NRF)  Board of Directors, President Irfaan Ali yesterday dodged questions on how he would be selecting one and possibly three of the directors.

On the sidelines of an event at the CARICOM Secretariat Headquarters in Liliendaal,  the President was approached by the media on the appointment of the Board and its members. He said that the nation would be “shocked” by how soon the Board would be constituted.

The Natural Resource Fund Act, which was made law on December 30, 2021 despite calls for greater participation by the political Opposition and sections of civil society, repeals the Natural Resource Fund Act of 2019 which was assented to by former President David Granger during a period where his government should have been in caretaker mode after it was defeated by a no-confidence vote in Parliament.