SARU yesterday defended legislation intended to set up an agency to retrieve state assets and it claimed that the country was bleeding up to $313b per annum under the PPP/C government.
Critics have previously questioned the authenticity of that figure as provided by the State Assets Recovery Unit (SARU).
SARU yesterday was responding to calls by the Private Sector Commission (PSC) for the State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA) bill to be taken to a parliamentary select committee for further deliberation before passage.
Yesterday, SARU noted that under Article 54 (1) (c) of the United Nations’ Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), each State Party must “consider taking such measures as may be necessary to allow confiscation of property without criminal conviction”.
SARU said that in this context, the SARA Bill is engineered to facilitate the recovery of illicitly obtained property through civil processes, with the primary aim of reducing the consequential damaging effects of corruption on sustainable development.
It said that the opinions of any Private Sector Commission or equivalent should be principled, balanced and near impartial.
“Honest business prefers a fair and principled environment. The passage of this Bill will allow the new Agency to direct a laser-like focus on such assets obtained through corruption; the loss of which has frustrated the development of this country”, SARU said.
It said that before the change of Government, the nation was losing $28-$35 billion each year through procurement fraud. In relation to illicit capital flight, the nation was losing $90 billion every year. Furthermore, the underground economy caused the nation to lose $188 billion per year. This adds up to a grand total of $306-$313 billion per year, which is a conservative figure, it said.
Given the purposes of the Bill and the damaging losses to the economy as stated above, it is imperative that the Bill be passed immediately.
“The scale of corruption discovered by SARU, to date, is astounding. The Guyanese population is eager to see the country’s assets recovered and appropriate action taken against the perpetrators of corruption. The SARA Bill is geared toward these purposes”, SARU said.
Warning that the proposed SARA Bill constitutes a “threat to democracy and good governance,” the PSC this week said it is seeking to have it sent to a special select committee prior to being considered by the National Assembly.
The bill was due for a second reading and debate in the National Assembly last Thursday but the proceedings were deferred until the next sitting.
In a letter to the Speaker of the National Assembly Dr. Barton Scotland, dated February 6th, 2017 and signed by PSC Vice Chairman Desmond Sears on behalf of the Chairman Edward Boyer, the PSC maintained that the provisions set out in the bill are in conflict with the fundamental rights of citizens and will negatively affect investor confidence.
The letter informed that the draft bill was sent to the PSC and other stakeholders in 2016 and extensive consultations were “generously” hosted by the Ministry of Legal Affairs.
It said that the PSC and other stakeholders obtained legal advice and submitted its concerns about the “draconian” nature of the bill and the potential impact it would have on investor confidence.
According to the letter, the PSC has since been advised that the bill that was tabled in the National Assembly last week “is essentially the same Bill that was submitted to stakeholders and that no meaningful changes have been made to its provisions despite the concerns of civil society.”
“The Commission therefore humbly beseeches that the State Assets Recovery Bill, as it was tabled, be submitted to a Special Select Committee where its provisions, and the implications of these, can be thoroughly examined and debated upon and where civil society may be invited to speak,” the letter to the Speaker said.
