DEPUTY Speaker of the National Assembly, Deborah Backer, yesterday refused to have the House set aside its business for the day, to facilitate, as a matter of urgent public importance, a debate on Guyana’s conundrum over its obligations inherent in the passage of the amendments to the

Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Laws.
The ruling by Backer came minutes after an unprecedented appeal by Head of State, Donald Ramotar, calling on the House to set aside its differences and address the legislation in a bid to meet its international obligations within the deadline and avoid possible international sanctions.
Leader of the Parliamentary Opposition, Brigadier (rtd) David Granger, subsequently told media operatives that A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) was prepared to miss the deadline in a bid to have a piece of legislation that it can be comfortable with.
According to Granger, the international bodies, particularly the Caribbean Financial Action Taskforce, was not interested in Guyana’s passage of the amendments but rather its implementation.
At the beginning of yesterday’s session of the House, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds said that the Head of State wanted to use his prerogative to make the “unprecedented appeal” through him, on the matter.
The objective of the President’s appeal, as was read aloud to the House by Prime Minster Hinds, was to have the 65 members of the Assembly, particularly the ranks in the Opposition benches, put aside their differences and “put Guyana first.”
The President, in his message to the House, said that he was calling on the party representatives to do all that is possible to complete the review of the legislative amendments at the Committee level, and have the matter returned tomorrow for a Special Sitting of the Assembly to have the amendments approved.
In his appeal to the members of the House, Ramotar said that it may be important to consider that many other countries in the Caribbean would have also experienced challenges in meeting recommendations by the task force review group, in meeting deficiencies in their money laundering laws; but noteworthy is that in those crucial times the various legislative bodies “have been able to rise to the occasion and protect national interest.”
The President used the opportunity to remind of the repercussions that had been meted out to countries that would have had their status downgraded as a result of failing to abide with the international obligations.
“We have a moral responsibility to ensure Guyana’s obligation,” are met according to Ramotar, who said that the amendments will bring Guyana in compliance with over 90 per cent of the recommendations.
“Guyana’s destiny is in our hands,” pleaded Ramotar, who said that, as “Guyanese first and leaders of your parties” they (the MPs) must do what it takes to ensure that the country is not left wanting.
“The Guyanese people are watching,” cautioned Ramotar, as he expressed an optimism that as “as Honourable men and women, you will do what is right for our blessed country.”
Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, following the appeal by the President, sought to invoke the Parliamentary Standing Orders that would have allowed for the business of the House, slated for yesterday, be set aside and allow for a debate on the obligations through the amendments to the money laundering laws.
Deputy Speaker Deborah Backer, who assumed the substantive post, given that Speaker Raphael Trotman is currently out of the jurisdiction, denied the government’s request.
Backer told the House that she is of the opinion that while she believed the matter to be of definite public importance, it did not meet the requirements to be debated as an emergency.
Backer qualified her position by saying that the matter is already engaging the attention of the Special Select Committee, and as had been indicated by Nandlall, emanated from a process.
Nandlall, in his attempt to have the House embark on the emergency debate, said that there has been four meetings thus far by the Special Select Committee, over the course of which numerous opposition requests have been acquiesced to.
Responding to public expressions that the consequences of not meeting the deadline were not known, Nandlall said that this was inaccurate.
According to the Attorney General, Guyana has been making regular reports and the recommendations over a period of time, all of which are publicly available.
The minister said that the recommendations came over a course of time, and had been compiled and presented in the plethora of amendments brought before the House for debate and approval.
Nandlall reminded also that Guyana, in recent years, has also been expanding on its anti-money laundering regime.
He said that Guyana has appointed a number of supervisory authorities over entities such as casinos, dealers in precious stones and metals, money transfer agencies, insurance and trust companies, among other financial institutions.
The arguments, however, did not find favour with the Deputy Speaker, Backer, who also refused the minister with responsibility for the Commerce Sector, Irfaan Ali, to make an appeal for the emergency debate.
Ali, in recent days, has been publicly expanding on the consequences of Guyana failing to meet the deadline to have the legislative amendments in place.
The Special Select Committee, with four days to go before the internationally imposed deadline expires, will resume meeting at 10:00hrs today at Parliament Building.