PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar has called on all Guyanese to stand by the government and show support for the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLCFT) Bill which is currently before a Special Select Committee of the National Assembly.As Parliament prepares to reconvene sittings of the House, calls have been made, by various sections of society, for the combined Opposition to also be supportive of the legislation that would bring Guyana in line with other Caribbean countries.
Addressing a Ministry of Housing ‘One Stop Shop’ at the National Stadium, Providence, East Bank of Demerara, yesterday, the President pointed out that the government has made significant progress in developing such sectors as housing, education and health.
However, he acknowledged that this development can be threatened if the bill is not passed on time.
“For us to continue in this process though, we will need your support, we will need you to walk hand in hand (with us) and I’m asking you for your support today, because there are issues in our society that can slow down this process and can put, in danger, many of the social and housing programmes that we have,” Mr. Ramotar said.
The Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) has already prepared a draft report on Guyana, which will be adopted at its plenary meeting, scheduled to be held in The Bahamas on November 18.
As such, this is Guyana’s last chance to avoid sanctions being imposed, worldwide, against commerce in and emanating from Guyana.

Still languishing
That draft report states, in its conclusion, that Guyana has not implemented the requisite recommendations and the Guyana AMLCTF Bill, which embodies the steps recommended, is still languishing in the Guyana Parliament.
The document, therefore, declares Guyana to be a non-compliant jurisdiction and invites countries to take such counter measures which they deem necessary to protect themselves from the money laundering and terrorism risks which Guyana pose.
Unless the AMLCFT Bill in Parliament is passed, before November 18, Guyana will be unable to prevent that draft report from being adopted and this will have dire consequences on the Guyanese economy.
President Ramotar said many of the arguments put forward by the Opposition parties, with regard to the bill, are being deliberately made more complicated than they actually are.
He explained: “This bill is to bring our legislation at the same level as the rest of the Caribbean’s legislation to fight against money laundering, drug trafficking…it’s to close all loopholes where people are getting illicit funds, either from drug trafficking or whatever…so all the countries in the Region will have one legislation.”
Ramotar reiterated that, if the bill is not passed, many of the banks and financial institutions would have serious problems in doing business, especially on the international front.
“That is why your understanding and your support for these things is extremely important,” he emphasised.
President Ramotar also alluded to the recent issue surrounding the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project (AFHP), which has been threatened after the major investor, Sithe Global of the Blackstone Group, withdrew from it, citing the need for national consensus.
That followed the non-support of it by the major opposition party, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), for the amendments to the Hydroelectricity Act and a motion to increase the debt ceiling on external loans, both of which were critical to the AFHP.
The President related that APNU has said their non-support of the hydropower project was because it would add a huge debt to the country but he denied that is so.
“This was a private sector investment; not one single cent of debt the government would be having,” he said, adding that the legislation that was before the Parliament is to guarantee the company, Amaila Falls Hydro Inc. that the Guyana Power & Light (GPL) would buy the electricity it produces,” he said.
Ramotar said this was not a difficult decision to take since, at present, GPL is producing electricity at almost US20 cents per kilowatt hour (kwh) but they would buy from the company at between US10 and US11 cents per kwh.
“So giving that guarantee was not a big decision to make because we would have been saving a lot of money there,” he remarked.
He calculated that, in the first 12 years, electricity bills would be cut by some 40 percent, in 15 years by 71 percent and in 20 years by 91 percent.
Nevertheless, he stated that, now the Government has to look at new alternatives of getting hydropower because it is essential to the development of the country.

Fully endorsing
Meanwhile, the Aircraft Owners Association of Guyana (AOAG) has joined in calling for the AMLCFT Bill to be supported. The association recently issued a statement fully endorsing those made by the Private Sector Commission, the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association and the Guyana Association of Bankers on the proposed legislation.
The association noted that the failure of the National Assembly to enact this legislation, in accordance with the timelines which have been set by CFATF, places the country and Guyana’s people at significant risk of being seriously penalised in conducting everyday financial business.
The AOAG, in its statement, urged the members of the National Assembly to set aside their political differences in addressing their greater responsibility to the nation, challenging them to enact the legislation immediately and ensure that, once enacted, the necessary administrative measures are put in place to enforce the laws governing and protecting the country from money laundering and the financing of terrorism.