December 11th, 2013

Ball in Government court   to pass AML Bill and set up procurement Commission

The Alliance For Change notes that the government has   signalled its intention to have the Anti-Money Laundering/ Countering the   Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill brought back to the House.

The Alliance For Change has already stated its position, we   may be willing to consider the suspension of the Standing Orders of the   National Assembly in order to facilitate the Bill being brought back to the   House but, must be assured that there will not be another stalemate.

The Party is cognizant also of the APNU's intention to table a   number of amendments that will strengthen the Bill. In a spirit of   compromise, the AFC is prepared to work with the other parliamentary parties,   APNU and the PPPC, to ensure that Guyana's financial landscape benefits from   both strengthened anti money laundering laws and oversight of public   procurement. This is possible if the political will is there.

In   a roadmap that was shared with President Donald Ramotar and the leader of the   APNU coalition Brigadier (Ret'd) David Granger, the AFC has outlined how   passing the AML/CFT amendment Bill and operationalizing the Public   Procurement Commission under the existing Procurement Act can both be   accomplished, within three Sittings of the National Assembly and before any   deadline. What is needed now is the political will to move both processes   forward simultaneously.

But, let there be no misinterpretation, the Alliance For   Change will not stand by and allow the itself to be manipulated into   supporting the AML/CFT Amendment Bill while the Government filibusters over   the Procurement Commission. Our Roadmap is clear -

1. We support the setting   aside of the Standing Orders so that the AML/CFT Amendment Bill comes back to   the House and at the same Sitting, the Bill is sent to Special Select   Committee for refinement and the Government names its nominees to the   Procurement Commission
2. The Public Accounts   Committee recommends the persons to sit on the Commission to the Assembly
3. At the next Sitting,   the House, by two-thirds majority, agrees the five persons to comprise the   Public Procurement Commission
4. The persons so named   are sworn in by the President
5. At the third Sitting,   the House approves a Supplementary Financial Paper of a reasonable amount to   support the work of the Commission until the next budget is passed and at the   same Sitting the House passes the AML/CFT Amendment Bill.

The ball is now in the Government's court. [END]

Finance Minister's   credibility at stake

The AFC is aware that the Finance Minister, Ashni Singh, was   heavily criticised for being so ad hominem in his first response to the   Leader of the AFC claims concerning the sum of $800,000 million in the   Revised Wages and Salaries category for the past five years not being   accounted for. The criticism came recently from senior colleagues of his in   the Cabinet. It is for this reason he had to issue a second response late   afternoon of December 9, 2013.

  The AFC and its Leader felt that the first response did not merit and was    unworthy of a reply.  It revealed how scatter-brained the Minister   of Finance was getting, now that his game was up and the Ministry's scheming   was being unraveled .

  We learnt that the Minister was directed by Senior Cabinet officials to put   out a proper response which will meet the merits of Mr Ramjattan's    claims. The AFC has seen that response.

  The AFC asserts that there is not an iota of truthfulness in that second   response. Indeed, this second response is a little more respectful but just   as well it is most  specious.

  What the Minister said then in April 2013 was indeed said, but it was all   suspect and hollow.  Just like in the previous year when he said that   the Opposition has the right to redeuce proposed budgetary allocations which   right he will respect, yet going to court to argue that there was no such   right.

Now in this his more measured second response, it is not   completely true to say that only about half of the approved $4.4B for Revised   Wages and Salaries for 2013 was going to go towards increases for public   servants. The most substantial part was supposed to, if not the whole of it.

It is also not true that the other half was intended for new   recruits and promotions.

As is well known, it would be most  ludicrous to believe   that new recruits and promotions from April 2nd 2013 to December 10th, 2013   would involve so much expenditure. to come up to approximately $2.2 Billion!   What kind of projections as to extent of our Public Service staffing is that?   That would be way off! The Minister will now have to say how many new   staffers the Public Service took on during that period and why.

Additionally, what were their categories and salaries? And of   course, now that he is plausibly arguing that this sum catered for   promotions, he has to inform about and account for all the said promotions.   He will not be let off the hook!

  Ashni Singh's credibility has become of the identical ilk like a predecessor   of his, maybe probably worse. Remember Jagdeo when he was Minister of Finance   under the Presidency of Janet Jagan?  We all remembered when Jagdeo,   with all the theatrics of an Academy Award winning actor, said there was no   monies to pay additional increases to Public Servants  because all the   monies, including those under the Revised Wages and Salaries allocation, had   been used up for similar reasons ....new recruits and promotions. Well, the   Armstrong Inquiry, commissioned after the massive public servants   demonstrations of 1999, investigated and found enough monies to pay 25 and 31   percent respectively for the following two years after 1999.
  So it is the same disingenuous strokes but with a different batsman playing   them.

The AFC maintains that the money is there for an increase of   up to a minimum of 10 percent and maximum 15 percent. The country must come   to understand that the deception continues.

  The Public Servants know how to bring out the truth about what they truly   deserve. Since the Government is repeating its play of 1999, maybe the Public   Servants may have to use its strong arm similarly and get back an Armstrong   here.

  This Government apparently will never learn. Moreover, the mask of this   minority government being pro-worker, has long fallen! [END]

The PPP remains on the   wrong side of the war against corruption.

The PPP-C's continued refusal to accept the results of   Transparency International's annual Corruption Perception Index is the   political equivalent of denying the existence of Santa Claus even though his   familiar figure is instantly recognizable to most of the world's population.

The AFC wishes to advise the PPP-C that, perceived or not, the   Corruption Perception Index is a very real tool, used by governments,   investors, organizations and individuals worldwide to assess corruption   levels in different countries.

By challenging the results of the Index and attacking the   local chapter of Transparency International, the PPP-C government is   positioning itself on the wrong side of the war against corruption.    This is clearly its comfort zone from which it intends to retaliate against   those who speak out against corruption.

The results of the 2013 Corruption Perception Index ranks   Guyana as 136 out of 177 countries surveyed with a score of 27 points out of   100.  This is down from last year's ranking of 133 out of 176 countries,   and 28 points.  The AFC is neither surprised, nor confused by these   results, since they are consistent with the everyday experiences and   observances of most Guyanese.

The Government's steadfast refusal to establish independent   and constitutionally required bodies such as the Office of the   Ombudsman,  the Integrity Commission and the Public Procurement   Commission does little to assure our citizens that it has any desire to   seriously address issues such as corruption, nepotism and other abuses by   public officials.

Many senior government officials have now accumulated wealth   that most Guyanese can only dream of.  Their newly acquired wealth is   perhaps easier to comprehend if one actually believes in Santa Claus.

The AFC will continue its campaign against the disease of   corruption since, unlike the PPP-C, we believe it exists and we understand   that it is the people of Guyana who pay the real price for the corruption   that has taken over our country. [END]