Govt. shall determine fate of SARA Bill in National Assembly - Harmon

Govt. shall determine fate of SARA Bill in National Assembly – Harmon

Feb 18, 2017 News

While there have been recent calls for the State Asset Recovery Agency (SARA) Bill to be sent to a parliamentary select committee for much needed work, the Government asserts that the way forward will be decided in the National Assembly come March 9.
This is according to Minister of State, Joseph Harmon.

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon

During a post-Cabinet press briefing yesterday, he was asked by the media to state whether the concerns regarding the Bill have been taken to the level of Cabinet.
Harmon made it clear that before the SARA Bill reached the level of Cabinet, it was subjected to wide consultations which were led by Attorney General, Basil Williams.
The Minister of State acknowledged that there were some concerns regarding some aspects of the Bill. He said that those concerns were taken into consideration before the Bill was laid in the National Assembly.
“In the house, it is expected that it will be debated on March 9 and at the end of it, if there are issues that have arisen that have propelled us in a certain direction, whether to pass it or send it to committee, then that is a decision that will be made then,” Harmon stated.
He noted that the call by the Private Sector Commission for the Bill to go to a special select committee is a move that fundamentally seeks to give the public another opportunity to comment on it. Harmon maintained, however, that there were several opportunities before, for comments to be made regarding the Bill.
“But what I want to say is that when you get an opportunity to comment on things, ensure your membership gets an opportunity to speak, because you cannot keep legislation moribund… just waiting and waiting and waiting,” Harmon said.
The Minister stressed that the Government is intent on moving the country forward. He said that the Bill will give the particular entity the legal coverage needed to go after those who, in some cases, stole state assets.
“The Bill is a government Bill and Government will determine what happens to its Bill,” Harmon said.
The politician reminded, however, that if it is found that some areas of the Bill still need much clarification, then that would be a strong motivator for it to go in the direction of the special select committee.

UNCHECKED AND UNCHANGED
The Private Sector Commission has since expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that the SARA Bill which was laid in the National Assembly a few weeks ago is essentially the same Bill that was presented to stakeholders last year during consultations.
The Commission stated that while the consensus of businesses is that there is a need for unlawfully appropriated assets of the State to be recovered, it was felt that the SARA Bill provides too much unchecked power to the Agency.
The body believes that based on the Bill, the Director of SARA supersedes the Courts, the Commissioner of Police and the Commissioner-General of the Guyana Revenue Authority. It said that the Bill will impede business progress as it allows for harassment and political victimization of legitimate businesses.
The Commission commented that the Bill allows staff of the Agency to arbitrarily look at private accounts and financial information of citizens without due process. It also noted that the Bill should be recalled and amended to be consistent with the constitutional rights of citizens.

MISUNDERSTANDING
CEO of the State Assets Recovery Unit, Aubrey Heath-Retemyer recently told Kaieteur News that the changes proposed by the Commission were based on the fact that they did not understand several aspects of the Bill.
The SARU Officer said that while the Commission was not alone in this boat, efforts were made to ensure that all misunderstandings regarding the Bill were clarified.
He said, “I do recall their concerns with the Bill, but the truth is that the criticisms we received on the Bill were largely due to the fact that people did not understand it, and that was the case with the Commission.”
Heath-Retemyer said that there were no “substantial” changes made to the provisions, but there was some “tightening of the language used.”

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