Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo earlier today, exposed the hollowness of recent claims by Economic Advisor attached to the Opposition Leader’s Office, Elson Low. The advisor said today that the interest earned on the Natural Resources Fund (NRF) could provide a salary increase beyond the government’s 6.5 percent hike issued to public servants last year. Using basic math, Jagdeo proved this to be another piece of fiction from the opposition’s camp.
During a press briefing today, Vice President Jagdeo gave a detailed breakdown of the NRF’s current state and its investment strategy, exposing the nonsensical nature of Low’s recommendation.
As of 2022, Dr. Jagdeo said the NRF holds approximately US$270 million that is available for investment, with an expected annual interest yield of over US$13 million. Jagdeo emphasized that even with this amount of interest, funding a salary increase higher than the 6.5 percent provided by the government would be impossible.
“The 6.5 percent increase cost us $7.9 billion, but the interest on the NRF could only provide about $2.7 billion,” stated Jagdeo.
Furthermore, Jagdeo delved into the NRF’s overarching purpose, elucidating its role in strategic financial planning for the future. He clarified that the interest earned on the sum of money set aside in the NRF is not intended for immediate use in recurrent expenditures.
Furthermore, the restructuring of the NRF, as outlined by Jagdeo, aims to establish transparency, ensuring that all expenditures from oil money undergo parliamentary debate and appropriation.
“You can’t spend off book as would have been allowed under the old NRF (framework)… We took that out so it’s a transparent process,” Jagdeo explained.
He also stated, “The opposition doesn’t grasp the purpose of the NRF. It’s not meant to exhaust every cent earned in interest. That is part of the reason why we’ve removed direct charges on the NRF to prevent corruption.”
Based on his elucidation, Jagdeo said the opposition’s claim is nothing but “wild rhetoric” with the sole aim of misleading the country.
