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FM
Former Member

APNU spurns gov’t offer of compromise on AML/CFT ‘sticking points’

WITH a mere five days to go before the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meets next Monday, and only one sitting of the National Assembly scheduled before then, there is yet no indication whether Guyana will be able to have the controversial Anti-Money Laundering and the Countering of Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) (Amendment) Bill passed in time for the Paris meet.

According to Chair of the Parliamentary Special Select Committee reviewing the AML/CFT (Amendment) Bill, Gail Teixeira, the Committee was to have met Monday, but did not. “I called to get a meeting for Monday; the

Gail Teixeira

Gail Teixeira

intention was to get the Bill to Parliament and FATF meets,” she told the Guyana Chronicle yesterday.
She also disclosed that the Government, last Friday, indicated its willingness to compromise on the three “sticking points” that is holding up agreement on the Bill, but this was rejected by the Main Opposition.
“We were rebuffed; we did not have the kind of response from APNU… We tried to have a meeting to reach compromise; something Government was clear that it was willing to do. Unfortunately, it appears that APNU is either not interested or unable to accept our offer,” she said.
She said she went to great lengths to stress the urgency of having a Bill brought to the National Assembly, and pointed out that after the June 11 Select Committee meeting, there was only disagreement on three areas.

“What we have before the Committee is three versions of two Bills: The Government’s AML/CFT (Amendment) Bill; APNU’s draft amendments to the Principal AML/CFT Act; and the AG’s counter-proposals, which addressed the problem areas in APNU’s amendment,” Teixeira said.
She went on to explain that the “three sticking points” at reference have to do with governance, the role of the President, Ministers and that of the National Assembly.
She noted that while there is full agreement on the Government’s AML/CFT (Amendment) Bill, and 80 per cent agreement on APNU’s proposed amendments and the AG’s counter-proposals, APNU has indicated that it will not be able to meet until Friday, June 20.

‘We were rebuffed; we did not have the kind of response from APNU … We tried to have a meeting to reach compromise… unfortunately, it appears that APNU is either not interested or unable to accept our offer’ — Chair of the Parliamentary Special Select Committee, Gail Teixiera

“I have not responded to that,” she said, adding: “Last Friday, what happened was that we were unable to make contact with the persons from APNU and when we did we were questioned on the basis for the meeting, which was explained. We have some degree of agreement and can move forward.”
She also lamented the fact that the current state of affairs is indicative of history repeating itself. “Based on the fact that there was a level of agreement after the last meeting (June 11),” she said, “we proposed a compromise, in the hope that it would lead to some action on June 19, when the Parliament meets…
“The long and short of this is that APNU has rebuffed our willingness to compromise on the areas where there was disagreement, and said they are unavailable until June 20.”
FATF’s next plenary meeting is slated for June 23 to 25, 2014 in Paris, France, at which time the international body is likely to put Guyana up for review by its International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG).
Guyana was referred to FATF by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) on May 29, as a result of which the nation is now grappling with regional blacklisting, as of last November, by CFATF, as well as the beginning of the implementation of counter-measures as advised by the regional watchdog.
Through a missive to its members, the counter-measures against Guyana that were advised by CFATF include: The requirement of enhanced due diligence measures; introducing enhanced reporting mechanisms or systematic reporting of financial transactions; refusing the establishment of subsidiaries or branches or representative offices in Guyana; and taking into account the fact that financial institutions from Guyana that do not have adequate AML/CFT systems and limit the business relationships or financial transactions with the country.
The enactment of the AML/CFT (Amendment) Bill before CFATF’s meet in May, by all accounts, could have averted Guyana’s referral to CFATF, particularly since the body noted that 90 per cent of the deficiencies identified are legislative in nature.
The Bill, to meet CFATF’s requirements, was tabled in the National Assembly in April 2013, but referred to a Parliamentary Special Select Committee and eventually voted down by the combined Opposition in November 2013. The Bill was re-tabled in December 2013, and again referred to the Parliamentary Special Select Committee, where it has been since.

(By Vanessa Narine)

 

excerpt from the Guyana Chronicle

Replies sorted oldest to newest

Isn't it clear that the PPP clearly does not want this bill signed and is only engaging in a good game of theater to con the average citizen and the international community into believing they really care?

 

Who are the biggest money launderers in GY? How are they connected to the Government?

 

Money launderers do not have any time with the opposition they could care less about the opposition who has not had any power in over 20+ years and who still do not have any power today.

FM

If the joint opposition withhold their signature, and Guyana is further blacklisted, not only the supporters of the ruling party would be affected, but every single Guyanese no matter which side of the political divide you stand.....its time the AFC/APNU stop *****-footing...

FM
Originally Posted by Conscience:

If the joint opposition withhold their signature, and Guyana is further blacklisted, not only the supporters of the ruling party would be affected, but every single Guyanese no matter which side of the political divide you stand.....its time the AFC/APNU stop *****-footing...

So Ramotar is duck footing by not giving assent to the bills passed by the people's parliament. The joint opposition speaks for the people.

Mitwah
Originally Posted by Conscience:

The President clearly stated he would not sign any bill that is unconstitutional, those bills that the President withhold his signature from were indeed unconstitional.

He is playing games. Which court of law agrees with his opinion? The opposition should stand their ground. They speak for the majority; not Ramotar.

Mitwah

"Mitwah" there is a booklet called the "constitution" which is the Supreme law of the land,even the joint opposition "razor thin" majority has to adhere to  the constitution, its available online, shouldn't cause you no harm if you read it.

FM

As was seen by Ralph Ramkarran in his most recent article seen here http://www.stabroeknews.com/20.../06/15/quid-pro-quo/

 

Every government has to compromise and more so a minority government.

 

This line the PPP has that APNU is responsible for this stalemate is complete nonsense and only fools will buy into such a fallacy. The PPP's excuses are so bloody mediocre it is ridiculous. No one of any intelligence would accept what the PPP is claiming here.

 

The PPP needs to establish the Procurement commission it is the law.

 

 

FM
Originally Posted by Conscience:

"Mitwah" there is a booklet called the "constitution" which is the Supreme law of the land,even the joint opposition "razor thin" majority has to adhere to  the constitution, its available online, shouldn't cause you no harm if you read it.

Ramotar should read it. It's the Burnham constitution. The PPP should apologize for embracing it and fooling the populace. The opposition speaks for the majority of the populace. Why is the PPP afraid to call local elections? Is this not a requirement in the Constitution?

 

The PPP has been in continuous power since 1992 and it has not scrapped Burnham’s constitution. Indeed the PPP has relied on it in its exercise of elected dictatorship. The people have spoken in 2011.

Mitwah
Last edited by Mitwah

Government not serious about passing AML Bill

June 15, 2014 | By | Filed Under AFC Column, Features / Columnists 

It is now more than a year since the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2013 was tabled in the National Assembly. Since then there has been a lot of political posturing by the government but little evidence to support its claim that it wants to have the Bill passed. The Government has turned the AML/CFT Bill into a talking point but contrary to its expectations, it failed to score the political mileage it had hoped for. This is typical of the general approach of the PPP to addressing corruption and the flow of illicit funds. History shows that anti-money laundering legislation was first introduced as Bill No 10 of 1998. It took two years to be approved by the National Assembly and assented to by the then President in March 2000. After 2000, it was not until 2007, that the Government introduced the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Finance of Terrorism Bill. It took another two years for that Bill to be passed and one hundred and seven days before it could be assented to and another 87 days before the 2009 Act could be brought into force. It must be noted that during this time, the PPPC had the majority in the House. When AML legislation was finally in place, the implementation left much to be desired. One may recall that back in 2011 then President, Bharrat Jagdeo, publicly criticized the Financial Intelligence Unit that was created under the legislation; albeit as a one-man show, for its inability to meet even basic annual reporting obligations to the National Assembly. One must also recall that for nearly four years the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) has been working with Guyana and making recommendations for the strengthening of our Anti-Money Laundering mechanisms. Over that period the Government implemented the very minimum to get by and the country was being listed as either non-compliant or partially compliant on most of the measures required by the Regional body. It was not until May 2013 when CFATF’s patience ran out and it threatened Guyana with black-listing that the PPPC Government hastily and awkwardly sought to table the amendments to the original AML/CFT Bill. We say awkwardly because the Government failed to share a very important letter from CFATF with the Opposition as it was specifically asked to do by CFATF. Following the tabling of the amendments, the Alliance For Change immediately made known the conditions under which it would lend its support. The AFC also shared with the Government and published publicly its ‘Road Map’ for moving the process forward.  In a spirit of compromise, the AFC made a proposal to the Government for Cabinet to retain a role in the award of contracts. The role of Cabinet is being used as a sticking point by the government in its refusal to set up the Procurement Commission despite what it agreed to and signed up for in the Procurement Act of 2009. Section 54 of the Act deals with review by Cabinet (no objection) of procurements in excess of fifteen million Guyana dollars, and states explicitly that ”Cabinet’s involvement under this section shall cease upon the constitution of the Public Procurement Commission”, except in relation to certain pending matters. Let it be known that the proposal from the AFC was viewed favorably by Ministers but still the Government refuses to move forward on the operationalization of the Public Procurement Commission. The PPPC Government sees the Public Procurement Commission as the guillotine that would kill its fattened cow and it is fabricating excuses to delay its establishment. The Procurement Commission is a provision in our Constitution (Article 212 W), reinforced by way of the Public Procurement Act, and designed to lend confidence to the procurement process and ensure no government gets fat on bribes and kick-backs from contractors/suppliers. In this regard, the Procurement Commission buttresses Anti-Money Laundering legislation, in that it effectively addresses the flow of bribes and other forms of illegal money. It is highly suspicious that Guyana does not have in place mechanisms that meet the requirement of CFATF or even surpass them. In the meantime, we continue to hear of illicit drugs being found in shipments from Guyana; Guyanese with strong linkages to persons in Government being implicated in fraudulent activities; we see millionaires cropping up overnight and unexplainable wealth being flaunted by Government officials whose income does not lend to their demonstrated extravagances. So while the PPPC government continues to make noises about the non-passage of the AML/CFT Bill, the people of Guyana and the international community continue to monitor the non-implementation of existing legislation, the profusion of mansions owned by government functionaries and their friends, and the flaunting by Guyana’s nouveau wealthy.

Mitwah
Originally Posted by Conscience:

If the joint opposition withhold their signature, and Guyana is further blacklisted, not only the supporters of the ruling party would be affected, but every single Guyanese no matter which side of the political divide you stand.....its time the AFC/APNU stop *****-footing...

Every single Guyanese is affected with no bid contracts that make the Boob and others in the PPP cartel into instant millionaires. Decoupling the constitutionally mandated procurement commission and other issues from the anti laundering bill is a definite way to kill them since the corrupt PPP will not comply otherwise.  How much more damage can happen here than is happening to us via grift and graft schemes of the PPP?

FM
Originally Posted by Conscience:

Its time the joint opposition put the country first and work "hand in glove" with the present administration, towards the best interest of the Guyanese people.

it is putting the peoples business first in demanding accountability with a procurement commission. It is also demanding local elections which is the peoples business as well. Delinkimg these issues means the minority PPP government will continue to act autocratically.It means the PPP will continue to neglect the peoples business as they have for two decades. We do not want to wait another 20 years for elections or internal financial accountability.

FM

APNU/AFC wants to frustrate this bill to the end. What they couldn't have done in one year can be done in 48 hours according to Granger. They are still bargaining before they can pass this bill and that is not playing games. They have no desire to put country and citizens above politics. 

FM
Originally Posted by Cobra:

APNU/AFC wants to frustrate this bill to the end. What they couldn't have done in one year can be done in 48 hours according to Granger. They are still bargaining before they can pass this bill and that is not playing games. They have no desire to put country and citizens above politics. 

And the gov want protect they dope smuggler.

FM
Originally Posted by JB:
Originally Posted by Cobra:

APNU/AFC wants to frustrate this bill to the end. What they couldn't have done in one year can be done in 48 hours according to Granger. They are still bargaining before they can pass this bill and that is not playing games. They have no desire to put country and citizens above politics. 

And the gov want protect they dope smuggler.

Woman, I don't like when you answer my posts. You're like a leach on my ass with your one track mind and stupid thinking. Please refrain!

FM
Originally Posted by Cobra:
Originally Posted by JB:
Originally Posted by Cobra:

APNU/AFC wants to frustrate this bill to the end. What they couldn't have done in one year can be done in 48 hours according to Granger. They are still bargaining before they can pass this bill and that is not playing games. They have no desire to put country and citizens above politics. 

And the gov want protect they dope smuggler.

Woman, I don't like when you answer my posts. You're like a leach on my ass with your one track mind and stupid thinking. Please refrain!

Like you can't handle a woman who is independent?

Mitwah
Originally Posted by Mitwah:
Originally Posted by Cobra:
Originally Posted by JB:
Originally Posted by Cobra:

APNU/AFC wants to frustrate this bill to the end. What they couldn't have done in one year can be done in 48 hours according to Granger. They are still bargaining before they can pass this bill and that is not playing games. They have no desire to put country and citizens above politics. 

And the gov want protect they dope smuggler.

Woman, I don't like when you answer my posts. You're like a leach on my ass with your one track mind and stupid thinking. Please refrain!

Like you can't handle a woman who is independent?

She's not being logical and I hate it. 

FM

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