President and PNC Leader tussle over provisions in Natural Resource Fund legislation

In his defense of the Act, President Ali, maintained that the previous Bill which was passed by the former APNU+AFC government was a recipe for corruption. He said the Bill passed and enacted by his government was a far better one.

President and PNC Leader tussle over provisions in Natural Resource Fund legislation

Over the weekend, President Irfaan Ali used the majority of his New Year’s address to the nation to once again defend the Natural Resource Fund legislation which he signed into law, while Leader of the People’s National Congress, Aubrey Norton also used his New Year’s address to decry the provisions of the Act which have been widely criticized.

In his defense of the Act, President Ali, maintained that the previous Bill which was passed by the former APNU+AFC government was a recipe for corruption. He said the Bill passed and enacted by his government was a far better one.

“We have created a governance and operational structure that is transparent and accountable and in which non-political, highly reputable persons carry out the responsibilities of supervision and compliance. In essence, the powers of oversight and control are with you – the people. The opposition and certain media outlets have tried to mislead their audiences into believing that I will be appointing the Board of Directors unilaterally and will have control over them,” the President said in his second New Year’s address as Head of State.

The President said while he is obligated to sign letters of appointment for the Directors to sit on the Board, he wants to provide the assurance that the Board will include a person selected by the National Assembly after consultation and debate.

On the other hand, recently elected PNC Leader Aubrey Norton believes that the current construct of the Act opens the gate for corruption.

In his address, Mr. Norton said the government has long been matching its spending against the oil funds by dolling out millions in cash grants and other cash transfers.

“Guyanese watch as the funds in the Natural Resource Fund grow. They were fooled into believing that these funds were not being touched by the Government. Now we all know better, as the Government, since being installed on August 2, 2020, has borrowed almost twice the money in the Fund,” the PNC leader said.

Mr. Norton said while the President and his government continue to talk about equal opportunities, their words have not matched their actions.

“The gap between the poor and disadvantaged and the rich is increasing. Clearly the government serves the rich and their powerful friends and families at the expense of the working poor of our country.  This is a trend that must be reversed,” Mr. Norton said.

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