– as Govt presents NRF Annual Report for fiscal year 2024 to National Assembly
Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh during his presentation of the Notifications of Receipts to the National Assembly of all petroleum revenues paid into the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) during the period April 1, 2025 to June 30, 2025 and July 1, 2025 to September 30, 2025, has reported that the balance at the end September 2025 amounted to US$3.6 billion. One of the key improvements to the NRF Act 2021 is that the subject Minister could face up to 10 years imprisonment if he fails to disclose the receipt of any petroleum revenue received by Government in the Official Gazette within three months of receipt of such monies.
As such, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government will continue to manage Guyana’s oil and gas sector with transparency and accountability, ensuring that the resources in the NRF are directed toward investments that deliver lasting benefits for current and future generations. However, Dr Ashni Singh on Monday also presented the NRF Annual Report for the fiscal year 2024 to the National Assembly, pursuant to Section 32(4) of the NRF Act 2021 and as testament to Government’s strong commitment to transparency and accountability in the management of the oil and gas sector.
Dr Singh, on behalf of the Government and the people of Guyana, acknowledged the work done by the NRF Board, the Public Accountability and Oversight Committee and the Investment Committee, for this extremely important national institution – the Natural Resource Fund. The NRF Act 2021 came into operation on January 1, 2022, and introduced major improvements to the framework for managing oil and gas revenues and essential enhancements to the governance and transparency arrangement of the Fund. These enhancements to the NRF Act 2021 include the establishment of a Board of Directors which will be responsible for reviewing and approving the policies of the Fund and monitoring its performance, thereby separating the management of the Fund from the Minister responsible for Finance. In addition, The NRF Act 2021 requires the Government to seek Parliamentary approval for withdrawals from the Fund, and also sets out new, simplified calculations needed for ensuring that the Fund achieves its purposes. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) continues to acknowledge the progress made in enhancing the governance of our natural resources and improving fiscal outcomes.
In 2022, the IMF noted that: “The governance of the NRF was strengthened through the appointment of three critical entities in 2022: the NRF Board of Directors, the Public Accountability and Oversight Committee, and the Investment Committee. Furthermore, to ensure full transparency and accountability, notifications of receipts of petroleum revenues have been published in the Official Gazette.”
This year, the IMF highlighted that the “NRF and Public Accountability and Oversight Committee 2023 Annual Reports have been presented to the National Assembly, regular notifications of receipts of petroleum revenues, as mandated by law, are published in the Official Gazette, and the BoG (Bank of Guyana) publishes monthly and quarterly reports of the NRF’s financial performance.”
The Board of Directors of the NRF was re-appointed on August 31 2024, and the members are as follows Major General (Ret’d) Joseph Singh, MSS, Chairperson; Dunstan Barrow, A.A., Director (Nominated by the National Assembly); Ramesh Dookhoo, Director (Representative of the Private Sector); Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Director as Professor Compton Bourne, O.E., as Director.
At Monday’s sitting of the National Assembly, the Speaker of the National Assembly also circulated the Public Accountability and Oversight Committee Annual Report for the fiscal year 2024, pursuant to Section 6(6) of the Natural Resource Fund Act 2021. The Public Accountability and Oversight Committee of the Fund was re-appointed on August 31, 2024. The 9-member Public Accountability and Oversight Committee is responsible for providing non-governmental oversight of the operations of the Fund, replacing the cumbersome 22-member committee previously proposed in the NRF Act 2019.
The post US$3.6B remains in NRF as of end of September 2025 appeared first on Guyana Times.
