NON–PASSAGE of the Anti–Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Amendment Bill in the National Assembly has already begun to negatively affect the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce and the Guyana Tourism Authority, among other tourism entities, according to Tourism Minister (ag) Irfaan Ali.
“The AML/CFT Bill will affect everything. It does not take any intellectual capacity or any aspect of right thinking Guyanese to understand that the (bill) is a non-negotiable item,” he told a media conference Friday.
Minister Ali said the Bill should not be toyed with, echoing sentiments similar to his other colleagues in Government. “It is not a political tool, a social tool, or an economic tool; it is an international necessity that will destroy us if we don’t sign onto it. It has the potential of disrupting this sector tremendously, and any person who believes in tourism cannot believe in it without supporting the AML Bill,” the minister said.
As a result of the Bill’s non–passage in the National Assembly, Ali explained, the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) is now encountering difficulties paying for advertisements in the region. “Because we can’t transfer money, we are having problems; much less tour operators. The tourism sector is feeling the heat of the political madness that the opposition is going on with,” he stated.
Ali explained that politicians have the responsibility to pass the Bill, since Guyanese from all walks of life have already indicated their support for its passage.
(By Rebecca Ganesh-Ally)
