Although a Natural Resource Fund (NRF) Investment Committee is already in place, the Guyana Government is not yet ready to invest funds held in the account, Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat has said.
Speaking on Thursday during The Guyana Dialogue programme, Bharrat acknowledged that investing NRF funds has been a successful strategy in other oil-rich countries but suggested that Guyana is not yet in a position to follow suit.
“A lot of countries like Norway and other countries that have been producing oil for a very long time and would have utilised the resources from the sector to basically build out their country in terms of infrastructure, education, healthcare, they are in a position now where they use the revenue from the Natural Resources Fund or the Sovereign Wealth Fund to invest into projects, whether it’s in Norway or internationally, it is one way of making money, using the funds, rather than just having it sit there,” the Minister explained.
“We are not in that position as yet; we are still using revenue to build out infrastructure, ensuring that we have good education, healthcare and maybe in the future, at some point in time, when we’re in a better position, then we too might look at investment, whether locally or internationally, rather than have the funds lie there in the account,” he added.
The Government recently reappointed the members of the NRF Board of Directors and Investment Committee.
Major General (Retired) Joseph Singh, MSS, will continue as Chairman of the NRF Board for a further two years, from September 1, 2026, to September 1, 2028. He will serve alongside Dunstan Barrow, AA, the National Assembly nominee; Ramesh Dookhoo, the Private Sector representative; Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett; and Ambassador Professor Compton Bourne, OE.
The Board is established under the Natural Resources Fund Act 2021 and is responsible for the overall management of the Fund, including reviewing and approving its policies and monitoring its performance. The legislation provides for a Board of between three and five members, including a National Assembly nominee and a Private Sector representative.
The Government has also reappointed the NRF Investment Committee for four years, from August 31, 2026, to August 31, 2030. Shaleeza Shaw, the Ministry of Finance nominee, will remain Chairperson. The committee members are Michael Munroe, nominee of the Minister responsible for petroleum; Lauris Hukumchand, nominee of the Attorney General; Richard Rambarran, Private Sector nominee; and Ganesh Sugrim, ex officio non-voting nominee of the Governor of the Bank of Guyana. The Investment Committee is responsible for advising the NRF Board on the investment of the Fund’s resources.
According to Bharrat, while the committee is in place, no investments of the country’s oil money have been made.
“The president would have recently constitute an investment committee, which is part of the legislation as well, but we have not invested any money from the Natural Resource Fund as yet,” he posited.
President Dr Irfaan Ali previously indicated his Government’s intention to invest monies from the NRF. Addressing the Maple Leaf Gala hosted by the Guyana-Canada Business Chamber in Toronto this year, President Ali had expressed, “In our sovereign fund, our National Resource Fund, we now have to find investment opportunities. And as the fund grows, we will be looking at opportunities that are safe, give you a decent rate of return, and, importantly, invest in countries and economies that share the same values, where rule of law and predictability are important factors in the way to do business.”
Meanwhile, during the programme, the Minister debunked claims from sections of the public that the country’s oil revenues are being misused.
“There will always be a few voices around that there’s either misuse or that ‘we are not benefiting’ from the funds. The easiest thing for someone to say if they’re not supportive of a Government is to say, ‘There is misuse, there is corruption, they ain’t doing nothing, we are not benefiting.’ And you will always hear that because those comments generally are politically motivated, and all of us are Guyanese here; almost everything in Guyana and everyone in Guyana is somehow politically affiliated or politically aligned or is based on politics, and that’s the unfortunate thing,” Bharrat contended.
He added, “I’ve heard people who are driving over the Bharrat Jagdeo Demerara River Bridge, this new, beautiful, high-rise four-lane bridge with walkway on both sides, toll-free. I’ve heard people walking over that bridge, exercising in the evening, driving over, and still asking the question, ‘What is the Government doing for this country?’ What is the Government doing with oil money?’ and they’re driving over a brand new four-lane high-rise bridge which we thought we would have never seen toll-free… so sometimes I think the comment is very politically motivated and is not factual, and if people are really honest with themselves, they would see the development and they would recognise the changes that their lives are going through and the country is going through”.
The Ministry of Finance has reported that the balance of the NRF stood at just under US$4 billion at the end of May 2026.
In fact, reports indicate that in the first three months of 2026, Guyana earned approximately $159 billion (US$761.7 million) in oil revenues.
These revenues earned between January and March were from four Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels – Liza Destiny (Liza Phase One Project), Liza Unity (Liza Phase Two), Prosperity (Payara Project), and One Guyana (Yellowtail Project) – being operated by US oil major ExxonMobil and its co-venturers in the prolific Stabroek Block offshore Guyana.
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