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AFC wants NRF Act amended because of “dangerous flaws”
Kaieteur News – The almost two-month old law that governs the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) will be soon amended hopefully to adjust what has been described as “dangerous flaws” in the Act, especially when it comes to the misappropriation of funds and penalties for such abuse.
Leader of the AFC, Khemraj Ramjattan
This is according to the Party’s Leader, Khemraj Ramjattan, during a press conference hosted this week.
Ramjattan told reporters, in response to a question posed by Kaieteur News that the amendments will seek to ensure better transparency and greater efficiency.
He explained that his party as well and its partners in the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) have already stated, “That the previous 2019 Act was of tremendously greater effectiveness in relation to transparency and all of that and to the extent then that we will have to formulate amendments to the Act to ensure that that which was covered previously is now covered. We are going to do so.”
The NRF Act of 2021, which was hurriedly approved in the National Assembly on December 29, fails to pinpoint penalties for the misappropriation of funds but instead includes several penalties for an official who discloses confidential information or provides misleading data about the nation’s oil money.
Under Part VIII of the legislation which deals with penalties and offences, a person who gives information that is materially false or misleading or knowingly includes or permits to be included, in any report or document, information that is materially false or misleading, commits an offence and is liable on conviction or indictment to a fine of $10M and to imprisonment for five years.
A person who fails to comply with any obligation to publish information provided for in this Act, or leads someone else to fail to comply with or hinders or leads someone else to hinder the compliance with the obligation, commits an offence and is liable to be fined $5M and 10 years in jail.
It goes on to state that a person who, directly or indirectly, hinders or leads someone else to hinder the exercise of powers by an external auditor commits an offence and can be fined $5M and be made to serve three years behind bars. Furthermore, a person who discloses official information in contravention of the provisions of the Act commits an offence and can be fined $5M and sent to jail for three years.
The NRF Act has been strongly criticised by not only the political opposition, but also members of civil society, since the legislation was passed in less than two weeks after it was first tabled. Not only that but it was also argued that the critical piece of legislation was hurriedly passed without consultations.
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