Government not serious about passing AML Bill

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.