Dear Editor,
I listened with interest to a recent interview of Minister Ashni Singh on Starting Point with journalists Kiana Wilburg and Fareeza Haniff. In the said interview, Mr. Singh sought to make much of the fact that our NRF account holds enough to pay off the country’s external debt.
At the end of September 2025, the market value of the NRF Fund was US$3,594.22 million. At the end of September 2024, the market value of the fund was US$3,193.41 million. During this one year period, oil revenue inflows to the fund totaled US$2,393.14 million. Outflow from the fund totaled US$2,136 million, and the fund grew by US$400M. This growth was a combination of US$143.66 million in interest income and US$257 million representing the excess of oil revenue inflow over oil revenue outflow. These numbers make it clear that the rapacious PPP government, in which Mr. Singh holds responsibility for finance, spent eighty nine percent (89%) of our income earned from oil between September 2024 and September 2025.
Mr. Singh was really trying to obfuscate the profligacy of his government by highlighting the market value of the fund. Thankfully for Mr. Singh, this interview was being conducted on friendly ground with no serious attempt being made by his charmed interviewers to question his narrative. In this attempt, he was relying on the false assumption of his real boss that the Guyanese people are stupid.
The First Schedule of the NRF Act computes the maximum withdrawal based on “deposits paid into the Fund in the immediately preceding fiscal year.” Consequently, revenues for an entire fiscal year must generally be deposited before any withdrawal can be facilitated. Those funds have been built up because the law requires this and not because of fiscal prudence. It is this requirement that has compelled the current market value of the Fund. But for this condition, the market value of the Fund would be less than US$600 million under this wasteful administration. Mr. Singh needs to understand that the Guyanese people have seen right through him and are not placated by his utterances.
Yours truly,
Terrence Campbell
