GEORGETOWN – A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) is warning that Guyana’s multibillion-dollar oil savings are being placed at growing political risk, accusing the Government of dismantling the very safeguards meant to protect the Natural Resource Fund (NRF).
At the coalition’s weekly press conference on November 14, 2025, Shadow Minister of Finance Dr. Terrence Campbell delivered one of his harshest critiques yet, claiming that the NRF has shifted from a carefully guarded national asset into what he described as a “politically controlled pool of revenue.”
Campbell argued that the 2019 NRF Act, implemented under the former APNU+AFC administration, was designed as a protective shield around the country’s oil wealth. He said the arrangement was built on transparency and scientific fiscal management, featuring an independent Public Accountability and Oversight Committee, multiple layers of governance, and a withdrawal formula aimed at preventing reckless spending.
According to him, this system ensured that petroleum revenues would support development for generations without being vulnerable to political manipulation.But that framework, Campbell said, has been steadily dismantled. He pointed to the 2021 amendments that replaced independent oversight with a Board of Directors appointed by the Government, while introducing fixed withdrawal percentages that give the executive sweeping control over how much money can be accessed.
He warned that these alterations represented a direct blow to the Fund’s integrity. The Shadow Finance Minister said the situation worsened with the Fiscal Enactments (Amendment) Act of 2024, which loosened spending restrictions even further and raised withdrawal limits, allowing oil revenues to be tapped at a faster rate with what he called “minimal parliamentary scrutiny.”
Campbell cautioned that the trend exposes the country to corruption, mismanagement, and Dutch Disease, threatening long-term stability just as Guyana enters the world stage as a major petroleum player.
“Guyana’s oil wealth belongs to all its citizens, present and future, not to any government,” Campbell said, calling for the restoration of stringent oversight, stronger withdrawal rules, and a return to the original purpose of the Natural Resource Fund. APNU maintains that preserving transparency is essential for ensuring the Fund remains a national asset rather than a political tool.
