Oil money will not be used willy-nilly

— prime minister

PRIME Minister Moses Nagamootoo has posited that government will utilise the resources of oil revenues to build a new society first.

The focus, he said, will be on raising the standard of living of all Guyanese through social and infrastructural development, which are part of the Decade of Development plan.
“The money will not be utilised by government willy-nilly. There are what you call fiscal rules of how much of that money will be set aside for the future use, that is for our children; how much of that will be spent of infrastructural development and how much of that will be spent on social development,” Nagamootoo said recently on the programme Straight Up, on Benschop Radio.

There will be massive improvement in the education, health and social standards; and even as government debates whether direct cash grants will be disbursed to citizens, it is already guaranteed that revenues will be directed towards free tertiary education.
Development of the education sector will be the hallmark of the Decade of Development. The latter aims at transforming Guyana into a knowledge-driven society, where academics and technocrats can be sourced locally for not only the oil, but for all extractive industries as well.

Infrastructural development will spiral like never before, with the construction of new roads and bridges that will link every part of the country as lands will be opened up and cities will be established. The hinterland and the coastland will become accessible like never before, Nagamootoo posited. Also on the front burner for the government is the 20/40 development plan, which includes the Green State Development Strategy.

At the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) luncheon, President Granger had outlined his Decade of Development plan.
He said: “My government is looking to the future. Guyana is entering a new phase of economic development. The advent of petroleum production next year will result in sustained expansion of the economy. Petroleum revenues will be prudently managed to ensure sustained benefits to all sectors of the economy.

The ‘rising tide will lift all boats.’  We will launch a Decade of Development: 2020-2029. The ‘Decade’ will witness the emergence of a world-class education system aimed at ensuring that the best skills are available for economic development.”

CLEAN ENERGY
This sustainable development will see the protection of Guyana’s flora and fauna and pristine forest with the implementation of alternative energy use.
Nagamootoo said the mission is to transform Guyana into the green lungs of the world, which will be upheld for future generations.
“And so we have a future and a vision that takes us beyond even our lifetime and this is what we think we have for the use of our petroleum resources, that it has to be carefully managed,” he said.

To ensure it is carefully managed and the money is not squandered, the government through the Prime Minister’s Office, has established an integrity registration, through the Integrity Commission.

This seeks to monitor the assets of particularly politicians and if their wealth is found to be disproportionate, it will result in legal prosecution. This is coupled with the Guyana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GEITI), which will specifically monitor the transparency of the extractive industry, as well as its regard for the environment and the laws of Guyana.

The government, he said, has gone the extra mile to prove its accountability by introducing a National Resources Fund into Parliament, as well as to make the oil contract public for all to see. The Natural Resources Fund will protect the wealth derived from Guyana’s natural resources.

The Natural Resource Fund Bill 2018 was passed on January 3, 2019, in the National Assembly without objections. The law includes provisions for public oversight; withdrawals, including parliamentary approval and amounts to be withdrawn; eligible investments for its resources; accounting, reporting and auditing of records; and codes of conduct for members of the Oversight and Investment Committee.

Included in the Act is the first schedule, which outlines procedures and considerations which shall obtain in calculating the fiscally sustainable amount of the fund.

The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has lauded the government’s Natural Resource Fund as a positive step in the right direction towards protecting Guyana from the ‘resource curse.’

Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo posited that he is confident in the plans of President David Granger and it is no greater privilege working alongside him.