Guyana’s Senior Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh announced that the Government has made its second drawdown this year from the Natural Resource Fund in accordance with the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Act 2021.
The Minister indicated that the withdrawal was made pursuant to Section 16 of the Natural Resource Fund Act 2021, of US$200 million equivalent to GY$41.6 billion, and transferred into the Consolidated Fund to finance national development priorities.
The first withdrawal was made in February. This brings the accumulated withdrawals to date in 2023 from the NRF to US$400 million, equivalent to GY$83.2 billion.
Parliamentary approval was granted for a total of US$1.002 billion to be transferred during fiscal year 2023, to support the budget.
In comparison, the 2022 budget, the first to utilise oil revenues, was so constituted up to 23%. The Parliament had approved GY$552.9 billion (US$2.65 billion), with approximately GY$126.68 billion (US$607.6 million) coming from the Natural Resource Fund.
The government plans to ramp up spending as deposits into the Fund ramp up, to support infrastructural and social upgrades, with sizeable amounts saved.
