AG in Paris for FATF approval he had said we got three months ago

Sunday , October 25 2015, Citizen’s Report, Source

THE Attorney General is in Paris representing Guyana at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meeting where Guyana is hopefully going to be approved as being fully compliant with the global requirement for financial transactions.

This can only be good for Guyana and it is ironic that it is Mr. Basil Williams who is now the Attorney General in Paris to see Guyana step over this important and critical barrier.

I fully expect in a short while from now we will hear Mr. Williams announcing that FATF has declared that Guyana is in compliance with the global requirement to conduct financial transactions anywhere around the world.

But it was Mr. Williams who more than three months ago announced that Guyana had become fully compliant with FATF rules. Mr. Williams clearly misspoke then. Guyana had only enacted legislation that sought to eliminate the gaps in our original laws which prevented Guyana from being one of the countries in full compliance with FATF.

Guyana had not then been subjected to review by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF). Mr. Williams had jumped the gun; he had made a premature announcement. I am certain he did not intend to mislead his sisters and brothers.

For several years, the former People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) Government was trying to enact the law, but APNU+AFC blocked any progress. Mr. Williams was one of the opposition MPs who deliberately stalled Guyana’s progress then.

I am glad that Mr. Williams will be proudly holding up Guyana’s flag when FATF finally pronounces that Guyana has successfully eliminated all gaps in our laws and that we can conduct financial business without restrictions imposed on non-compliant countries.

Guyana had to go through CFATF in order to be recommended for FATF endorsement. Having submitted our amended laws to CFATF for review, the law is now before FATF for final review and a declaration that Guyana has successfully meet all requirements.

I wish that Guyana’s Parliament could have done this several years ago. Then APNU+AFC had used a one-seat majority to block Guyana from moving forward. Had Guyana not been represented strongly at the last FATF meeting by Ms. Gail Teixeira and before that by former Attorney General, Mr. Anil Nandalall, Guyana would have faced stern sanctions because of the anti-patriotic position of APNU+AFC.

Now that Mr. Williams get to go to Paris to get done what he said was accomplished already three months ago, I hope we have all learnt lessons how to always keep the interest of the people at heart.

Dr. Leslie Ramsammy