Latest update November 26th, 2024 1:00 AM
Blacklisting damage will not be reversed overnight – Finance Minister
By Kiana Wilburg
Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, says the political opposition is solely responsible for the damage done by an advisory issued yesterday by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF).
Minister of Finance,
Dr. Ashni Singh
CFATF in its advisory called on its members to consider implementing further counter measures to protect their financial systems from the ongoing money laundering and terrorist financing risks emanating from Guyana.
During a brief interview with media operatives after the closing ceremony of the 44th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) yesterday, Dr. Singh said that it is most regrettable that in spite of the appeals made by the CFATF and the private sector to pass this crucial Bill, the opposition remains unmoved.
He was making reference to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Bill currently in a Special Parliamentary Select Committee.
“Frankly speaking this was the inevitable consequence of the opposition’s refusal to enact the CFATF-compliant Bill and the responsibility for the CFATF advisory which was sent out today (yesterday) lies squarely at the feet of the opposition.”
When questioned as to what mechanisms the government plans to put in place to cushion the effects of the blacklisting status on foreign exchange rates, he said that government’s instruments to address this are finite. He articulated that he wished not to speculate about the possible effects that the foreign exchange rate will suffer, but stated that the government remains open to dialogue with the opposition on the way forward.
“We have said that this matter goes to the core of the integrity of our financial systems, but you can’t gamble with that. We (opposition and government) can argue on policies and other issues and about what we want and how to meet at certain compromises, but no responsible politician would put the country in a position where its financial systems would be tarnished and affected. In fact, this goes beyond mere tarnishing…this inflicts severe and immediate damage to the credibility and international standing of our country…I wish to maintain that no responsible politician would have allowed this to happen and it is disappointing that the opposition continues to oppose the legislation. The entire world understands the importance of this legislation, except perhaps the 33 persons who sit on the Opposition benches in Parliament.”
He added, “The opposition has been saying that we were crying wolf, but the business community has been complaining that they are already affected, as international payments are delayed and charges on remittances have gone up. The statement called on the community to exercise greater due diligence when conducting transactions with Guyana and so the dismissal of the legislation by the opposition is nothing short of being irresponsible… It remains to be seen what will happen from now.”
Dr. Singh said that it is the priority of the government to get the Bill passed.
“Make no mistake about it, reversing the damage that has been done by this advisory will not happen overnight and mere passage of the legislation will not make this problem go away when the world has been notified that Guyana is a country in default, and it will take a lot of work to correct that damage. It will not be easy to reverse it and the responsibility for this lies with the opposition,” the Minister concluded.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
A call for more cultural centres
…Peeping Tom Kaieteur News- Burnham’s decision to divert the Indian Immigration Fund towards constructing the National... more
Rising Gun Crimes in the Caribbean: Urgent Action required by all
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News – There is an alarming surge in gun-related violence, particularly among younger... more
Weekend Cartoon
