Major General (Ret’d) Joe Singh to head NRF Board

Major General (Ret’d) Joseph Singh has been appointed by President Dr. Irfaan Ali as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) – Guyana’s oil-wealth fund.

President Ali has also appointed United Kingdom Parliamentarian, of Guyanese origin, David Lammy and Permanent Representative of Guyana to the United Nations Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett to serve on the Board of Directors.

The President’s three appointees are expected to take their Oath of Office shortly. They will be joined by former PNC Parliamentarian Dunstan Barrow who was selected by a Parliamentary Committee and Private Sector nominee Ramesh Dookhoo.

See below full press release issued by the Office of the President:

Section 3 (1) of the Natural Resources Fund Act 2021, Act No. 19 of 2021, assented to by His Excellency, President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali on the 30th day of December, 2021, establishes the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) to manage the natural resource wealth of Guyana for the present and future benefit of the people in an effective and efficient manner and in accordance with the principles of good governance, transparency, accountability, and international best practices, including, the Santiago Principles.

Section 5 (1) of the said Act provides for a Board of Directors of the Fund comprising of not less than three (3) and not more than five (5) members, who shall be appointed by the President, inclusive of a chairperson.

In accordance with Section 5 (2), these Directors are selected from persons who have wide experience in legal, financial, business or administrative matters, one of whom shall be nominated by the National Assembly and one of whom shall be a representative of the private sector.

In pursuance thereof, at the 46th Sitting of the National Assembly of the 12th Parliament of Guyana, held on the 13th day of April, 2022, a Motion was unanimously passed approving Mr. Dunstan Barrow, nominated by the Standing Committee on Appointments of the National Assembly, as a Director of the Board of Directors, of the Fund. After consulting with the various organizations representing the private sector, Mr. Ramesh Dookoo was selected as a representative of the private sector.

Today, in accordance with the Act and in the exercise of his deliberate judgment, His Excellency President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali has appointed Major General (ret’d) Joseph Singh, MSS, Mr. David Lammy, MP (UK) and Carolyn Rodrigues along with Mr. Dunstan Barrow and Mr. Ramesh Dookoo as the Board of Directors of the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) of Guyana.

Additionally, Major General (ret’d) Joseph Singh, MSS, has been appointed as the Chairman of the Board of Directors by His Excellency the President. The Directors will be invited to take their Oaths of Office shortly.