Following a two-day summit in St Vincent and the Grenadines, Caricom Heads yesterday issued a statement calling on all “relevant parties” to enact long-stalled anti-money laundering legislation here and warning of the consequences of failure to do this.
The statement said that the Conference of Heads regarded with “profound dismay”, Guyana’s inability to enact the necessary legislation to implement the recommendations of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF).
“We recognise that Guyana’s failure to enact this Bill will result in Guyana being blacklisted by CFATF and consequently have far-reaching implications and, indeed, repercussions on the economy of Guyana as well as that of every territory of the Region.
It will affect the cost of processing international transactions and will adversely affect trade and financial flows in the Region.
The non-passage of the Bill will also retard the regional integration enterprise, limit the opportunity for growth in Guyana and the Region and result in hardship for the people of Guyana, and indeed, of the Region”, the Caricom statement said.
“We call on all relevant parties to enact the necessary legislation in the national and regional interest”, it added.
The Guyana Govern-ment yesterday welcomed the statement by Caricom.
A release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the Government 3noted that the Caricom Heads “stressed the negative impact which the failure by Guyana to enact the Bill would have on its national economy and the consequential implications for the wider region”.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry said “The CARICOM statement recognises the grave perils that loom before Guyana and the Caribbean should the CFATF recommendations not be enacted and should Guyana find itself blacklisted as a consequence. In doing so, the statement has vindicated the concerns expressed by the Govern-ment of Guyana over the past year, and the call by Government and by the multitude of other national stakeholders for the National Assembly to proceed with passage of the Bill submitted by Government in response to the CFATF recommendations.” “It is the hope of the Government of Guyana therefore that the Opposition Parliamentary Parties will heed the call of our regional partners and allow Guyana to proceed with the Bill with the required urgency, and not procrastinate any further thereby placing the country and the Region in jeopardy”, the statement declared.
The government statement made no mention of the opposition demand for compromises on the bill.
