APNU asks parliament to stop using ‘oil money’ for regular spending

Last Updated on Tuesday, 4 November 2025, 20:57 by Writer

The opposition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) on Monday proposed an amendment to the Natural Resources Fund (NRF) Act to bar government from spending Guyana’s oil revenues on recurrent expenditures.

“The proposed amendment seeks to repeal and substitute Section 16 of the Natural Resource Fund Act in order to ensure that withdrawals from the Fund are used in a transparent, accountable, and sustainable manner for development and disaster-related projects, and not for recurrent expenditure of the Government,” states a covering letter for the proposed amendment tabled in the name of APNU member of parliament (MP) Dr Terrence Campbell.

As the opposition’s representative on the NRF’s Investment Committee, he had already raised this concern in the public and filed a case in the High Court.

If Dr Campbell gets his way to repeal Section 16 of the NRF Act and his amendment approved by the National Assembly, the Act would explicitly state, among other things, that “for the avoidance of doubt, revenues from the Fund shall not be used to support the recurrent expenditure of Government.”

He also proposes that the Act states specifically that the revenues from the fund must be used “only to finance” infrastructure and development projects of the Government, including any initiative aimed at realising an inclusive green economy; and essential projects that are directly related to ameliorating the effects of a major natural disaster.