Consultations on the contents of a draft State Assets Recovery Agency Bill will be held soon, according to Attorney-General (AG) Basil Williams, who met with representatives of a joint World Bank/United Nations mission on the proposed legislation yesterday.
The discussions focused on the vital piece of legislation that will empower SARU to request information through the courts. State Assets Recovery Unit (SARU) head Professor Clive Thomas, who was also present at the meeting, had previously highlighted to Stabroek News the pressing need to introduce a bill that will transform SARU into an agency.
Reporters were not allowed to speak to any member of the mission and Williams provided the media with information after the hour-long meeting had ended. When approached on an unrelated matter, a UN representative on the mission said their instructions were not to engage the press.
Williams told reporters that he met with the World Bank/United Nations team specifically to address the draft bill. He said under that piece of legislation, SARU is described as SARA (State Assets Recovery Agency) and the bill deals with the organisation’s structure and functions, including its role in coordinating with other organisations in the quest to recover state assets which would have been misappropriated or obtained by unlawful conduct on the part of a public officer.
According to Williams, the agency’s remit is intended to be largely on the civil side and not criminal. “In other words, they would have the capacity to request information about assets being held by certain bodies,” he said. Williams added that under the proposed legislation, the agency would have the power to apply to the courts for a restraining or interim order related to state property.
He said the construct of the body is based on the UN Convention against Corruption, to which Guyana is a signatory and he pointed out that the two international agencies represented at the meeting yesterday play a part in combatting corruption.
According to Williams, the important thing at this point is for SARU to be able to access the relevant legislation which will empower it to be able to request information lawfully. He said that this will be a big step in its operations. The legislation will give the agency powers that are not in existence at the moment, he said.
The AG recalled that President David Granger has spoken repeatedly about having an “unbribable public service” and in line with his urgings that corruption be tackled head-on, yesterday’s meeting was a step in that direction.
He said the discussion with the mission and SARU dealt largely with the process of getting the legislation passed in the National Assembly. “So we are looking at consultations with stakeholders…in the form of facilitators and technical people,” he said, while adding that consultations with members of parliamentary parties were also discussed.
According to the AG, there is already a draft bill but consultations are needed so stakeholders can have an input.
He said the proposals will then have to be discussed to decide if any will be taken on board.
Williams said the consultations will start after the mission leaves and once the proposed bill has been publicised. He said proposed bills will now be posted on the ministry’s website so that stakeholders can view them and send their comments and proposals. “So that when we actually meet at the consultations, we just clarify certain issues that they would have raised,” he asserted.
Meantime, when asked about the estimated value of missing assets here, Williams responded that the figure is not yet available. He added that ongoing forensic audits continue to uncover such cases.
Also participating in the meeting with the UN mission were Chief Parliamentary Counsel, Senior Counsel Cecil Dhurjon and Solicitor-General Sita Ramlal.
