Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh yesterday said that he was shocked at the position by the AFC that it will withhold support for amendments to the anti-money laundering bill unless the government sets up the procurement commission and President Donald Ramotar reverses his decision not to assent to two bills. (See other story on page 10.)
The Government Information Agency last night reported Singh as saying that the position of the Alliance For Change to withhold backing for the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, unless Ramotar assents to the two opposition pieces of legislation and establishes the Public Procurement Commission was a shamelessly irresponsible position.
He told GINA he was shocked and horrified that the party would “hold the nation …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,” Singh lamented.
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) insisted on it
The select committee has apparently not been moving with any sense of urgency, according to Presidential Adviser on Governance Gail Teixeira.
She told GINA “The opposition in the committee insisted that we advertise and invite written submissions… were in the newspapers last Sunday (May 12). The deadline is May 17, Friday and therefore… so if we look at those events, there seems to be little haste on the part of the opposition,” Teixeira said.
If the bill is not passed, Guyana will be placed on a list with other non-conforming countries, and would face a series of sanctions.
GINA said that Teixeira in explaining the consequences for countries not in compliance with conventions and treaty obligations on money laundering, pointed out that the amendments proposed are to redress ambiguities in the current laws, and its correlation with other laws such as on gambling, mutual assistance on criminal matters (extradition), and money transfer licencing agencies among others.
“The impact of that is that it will impact on the financial system and sector of Guyana… other banks could decide how they are going to treat with you as a country,” Teixeira contended.
She is also peeved that the AFC is bargaining through the press and not at the table.
Critics of the government have said that it has dithered for years on the anti-money laundering laws and has very little to show in terms of implementation and charges despite concerns that there is a lot of laundered money in this jurisdiction.
