The Ministry of Finance yesterday announced that the government had made its first transfer for the year from the Natural Resource Fund (NRF), a whopping $51.994b.
This withdrawal is being made under the controversial amendment which allows the government to extract a larger amount from the NRF than was permissible in 2023.
In a statement, the ministry said: “Pursuant to the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Act 2021, as amended by the Fiscal Enactments (Amendment) Act 2024, Parliamentary approval has been granted for US$1,586,150,331 (equivalent to $329,885,563,088) to be withdrawn from the NRF in 2024.