Oil fund holds enough to clear external debt, says finance minister

The Natural Resource Fund now holds enough savings to fully pay off the country’s entire external debt, Senior Minister with Responsibility for Finance Dr Ashni Singh said.

Speaking on a recent edition of the Starting Point Podcast, Dr Singh said the oil-funded reserve has placed the country in one of the strongest debt positions globally.

“We have today saved in the Natural Resource Fund resources that are sufficient to pay off Guyana’s entire external debt. We have enough savings to do that today and still have some change left back,” he said.

Despite that capacity, Dr Singh said the government is taking a measured approach to borrowing, arguing that debt, when properly managed, can still support development.

“We need to dispense with this notion that borrowing is somehow bad. No country, no business, no home has been built without borrowing being incurred. Every country has done the same. What matters is not whether you borrow or not, but borrow prudently and cautiously within your capacity to service your debt going forward. That is what we’ve demonstrated the capability to do, that is what we have a track record of doing and that is what we’re going to continue to do going forward,” he noted.

He said the country’s debt-to-gross domestic product ratio is now about 24 per cent, among the lowest globally, a sharp reversal from the heavy debt burden of the early 1990s.

He added that the Natural Resource Fund remains central to safeguarding oil revenues, strengthening transparency and ensuring long-term economic stability.