The National Competitiveness Council (NCC) is concerned that the Opposition seems determined to improperly propose amendments to the Principal Act for inclusion in the Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) (Amendment) Bill.
In a press release issued on Tuesday, the NCC said it is of the view that these proposed amendments by the Opposition which seek to give extraordinary powers of seizure and arrest to the police are wholly unacceptable, frivolous and dangerous in the extreme and threaten the freedom and civil liberties of all Guyanese.
The NCC reiterates the warnings of the private sector that Guyana’s failure to pass the required amendments of the AML/CFT to meet the requirements of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force against Money Laundering (CFATF) will do considerable harm to the nation resulting in Guyana having to obtain international insurance coverage, suffering restriction of the banking and financial services, among other conditions.
The NCC therefore joins all concerned stakeholders in appealing to parliamentarians “to forgo their partisan interest, recognize the importance of passing the amendments to the Bill by the new February 28th deadline.”
