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AML legislation…Government should stop talking and start doing says AFC
“If they were serious they would have established the Public Procurement Commission, ensured that there was a
Treasurer of the AFC Dominic Gaskin
properly constituted Integrity Commission, taken steps to encourage the establishment of a DEA [Drug Enforcement Administration] office in Guyana, and ensured the extradition of drug lords to the US among other measures.”
This was the contention of the Alliance For Change (AFC) as they spoke to the seemingly interminable stance between the Government and the combined Opposition to get the Anti Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Bill passed.
Just recently General Secretary of the PPP Clement Rohee said, his Party is not linking the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) with the passage of the AML/CF Bill.
The AFC is reiterating that Government needs to provide the necessary constitutional provisions if it is serious about fighting money laundering crimes and enlisting the support from their end.
The AFC, which from the beginning has been calling for the establishment of the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) before it gives support to the AML Bill, said that “the public needs to understand that the Procurement Commission is a provision in our Constitution (Article 212 W), reinforced by way of the Public Procurement Act, and is intended to ensure that citizens get value for their tax dollars. It was designed to lend confidence to the procurement process and limit opportunities for government officials to demand bribes and kick-backs from contractors/ suppliers.”
The Party through its treasurer, Dominic Gaskin, stressed that “international bodies estimate that some 20 per cent of the money for all contracts goes towards bribes and kick-backs for high placed public officials. This is public money… money that rightfully ought to go towards improving the quality of life of the Guyanese people and not into the hands of corrupt government officials.”
He further stressed that a functioning PPC would also reduce the fear of contractors/suppliers that they could be discriminated against if they do not support the government of the day.
According to Gaskin, government’s “unwillingness to deal with corruption and to stem the flow of illicit money is evident in their refusal to yield to the establishment of the Public Procurement Commission and their sloth in implementing the provisions of the existing AML/CFT Act.”
If the PPP/C government was serious about addressing money laundering, they would have made robust efforts to strengthen the Financial Intelligence Unit without having to be forced to do so by an external body the party highlighted.
Gaskin said further that “in an economy awash with illicit money, there has only ever been one prosecution for offences under this Act.”
“One would have thought that these would have been good enough reasons for the government to hastily establish the Commission, especially as they were the ones who spearheaded the passage of legislation for its creation. However, they continue to make lame excuses while maintaining full control over a process that sees billions of tax payers’ dollars squandered each year” said Gaskin.
According to the AFC executive, it is time for Government to “stop talking and start doing” with respect to the passage of the Bill.
He cited that the issue of the AML Bill is just an opportunity for the Government to make “appropriate noises designed to fool the Regional and International Communities about their commitment to the fight against financial crimes.”
Leader of the AFC Khemraj Ramjattan had said that Guyana has a short time to go to the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) meeting on the 20th June, 2014 and in the period up to then “we can procure that Commission, and have the new legislative regime in place for the Local Government Elections this year, by the assenting of those Opposition Bills and ensure passage of the AML/CFT Bill.”
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