Another no-vote looms for anti-money

laundering Bill

With just two days left before a new deadline to pass critical anti-money laundering legislations, it seems almost certain that more trouble will be looming for the amendments.
The Alliance For Change (AFC) yesterday insisted that it is sticking with original demands that the long-awaited Public Procurement Commission (PPC) be established.

AFC’s leader,
Khemraj Ramjattan

“We are absolutely maintaining our position that should there be no Public Procurement Commission established and operationalised before the votes on the legislations, we would not be supporting them. That is our definitive statement at this time,” said AFC leader, Khemraj Ramjattan, last evening.
The statement could signal a certain non-passage of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) (Amendment) Bill before the Thursday deadline. The other Parliamentary Opposition, A Partnership For National Unity (APNU), said it will not also support the Bill because it wants critical changes.
With a current deadlock, unless a last minute miracle happens, the legislation that will place Guyana on the road with other countries in its fight against dirty money, will be heading for some more delays.
PPC is the body that will have oversight on the awards of state contracts. The absence of this body which was ordered established by new laws since in 2001 has created a situation in which numerous questions have risen over the awards of billions of dollars of contracts annually, the Opposition has claimed. Government has been insisting that it maintains its current no-objection role in the awards, an issue that has divided the National Assembly.
The establishment of the PPC is currently delayed because a Parliamentary committee has been handed the task of vetting the five members. The process of applications is still ongoing. With the names still to be placed before the National Assembly proper and voted on, it is unlikely to meet the deadline of Thursday.
According to Ramjattan, the establishment of the PPC is an important one for his party which controls seven seats in the National Assembly. He said that his constituents who voted would expect nothing less than what is being demanded.
“If we do otherwise, our constituents who voted for us to make changes, would give us a “cut ass”. We have warned the Government of the perils of not having the commission in place and operationalised by January. We set out a road map four months ago for the process to start to have the five persons nominated and before the National Assembly. We have nothing as yet.”
The governing side, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), is reportedly gearing to meet with the two Opposition parties within the next few hours in a last ditch attempt to arrive at an agreement.
According to Ramjattan, AFC is “comfortable” with the current legislations but would be prepared to back APNU with a critical amendment that mandates Police and Customs Officers to give reasonable cause before searching suspects.
“What we had in 2009 when we passed new laws were that we overlooked the Police and Customs officers giving reasonable cause for a search. All APNU is saying let us put it into law…let us strengthen it.”
The law changes, Government said, were proposed by regional regulators, the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) and consisted of 13 amendments to a previous AML law that was passed.
Ramjattan made it clear that previous legislations were passed in 2009. Having no problems with the current 13 amendments by CFATF along with what APNU is proposing over the stop-and-search process, there should not be any problems.
“We are not going to add anything. It is simple, no PPC…no votes. We never made any conditionalities to narrow the goal posts. That is our position.”
The Parliamentary deadlock has been worrying Government which says that Guyana stands to be blacklisted by its overseas trading partners because of an absence of recommended measures to protect itself from the risk of illegal monies being used to finance terrorism.
The amendments were introduced last year May but the Opposition sent it to a special select committee. Guyana had known for about two years what the legislations were yet did nothing, the Opposition said.
In November, after the legislations were voted down, CFATF placed Guyana on a risk watch, warning its member countries to take steps to protect itself from Guyana.
The new deadline is now Thursday, when the National Assembly is set to meet again.
Some businesses have claimed that the effects of blacklisting is already being felt with money transfers delayed and with confirmation that Citibank of New York has stopped doing business with Guyana.