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Finance Minister says … AFC position on money laundering Bill shamelessly irresponsible

May 16, 2013 News

The act of one political party to withdraw support for the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, unless President Donald Ramotar assents to the two opposition pieces of legislation and establish the Public Procurement Commission, has been regarded by Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh as a shamelessly irresponsible position.
In a comment to the Government Information Agency (GINA) yesterday on the move by the Alliance for Change (AFC), the Finance Minister said he was shocked and horrified that the party would “hold the nation at hostage by using support for this bill as leverage to extract political concessions.”
“What the AFC is essentially saying is that irrespective of how important this Bill is, or what the consequences of its non-approval would be, they are not prepared to support it because there are other political issues on which they wish to extract concessions from the Government,” Minister Singh said.
The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Bill was on May 7, referred to a Parliamentary select committee after A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance for Change (AFC) argued that its passage was ill-timed.
The select committee has apparently not been moving with any sense of urgency, according to Presidential Advisor on Governance Gail Teixeira who also commented on the AFC’s position today.
The passage of the amended legislation is aimed at bringing Guyana in conformity with certain international standards that would have spared the country from being blacklisted or excluded from important activities.
If the Bill is not passed, Guyana will be placed on a list with other non-conforming countries, and would be visited with a regime of sanctions which will include restrictions in the manner in which business is done internationally, especially involving wire transfers of funds.
Once placed on that list, it takes an average of approximately seven years to come off, during which time the country would have to go through a series of stringent scrutiny of its procedures used when transacting business across the borders.
President Donald Ramotar has called on the political opposition to put aside partisan interests in dealing with such an important piece of legislation and support its passage. Guyana has up to May 27 to satisfy the international criteria.
The Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is demanding that Guyana tightens its anti-money laundering Act by the stipulated timeline so as to comply with the recommendation of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, (CFATF), a move which the ruling administration is keen to implement.
This latest position by the AFC is a clear retaliation to President Ramotar’s refusal to sign into law the Fiscal Management and Accountability (Amendment) Bill and the Former President’s bills, after citing evidence that they were unconstitutional. The bills will require a two-thirds majority before they are returned to the President’s desk.

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