Written By Telesha Ramnarine
TODAY’s Order Paper for the first sitting of the National Assembly lists the amended Anti- Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Bill, as well as an amendment to the Procurement Act. 

First will be the AML/CFT report from the Parliamentary Special Select Committee (PSSC) and then its third reading, Secretary to the Cabinet Dr Roger Luncheon informed yesterday.

Furthermore, he said, the amendment to the Procurement Act is intended to secure a role for Cabinet in public procurement.
Speaking at his weekly post-Cabinet press briefing at the Office of the President in Georgetown, he said: “CFATF (Caribbean Financial Action Task Force) is certain and has pronounced publicly about the consequences of one dreaded outcome of non-enactment of that bill. The parliamentary Opposition contributes to a high degree of uncertainty. They promote uncertainty about the outcome of the parliamentary consideration of that bill.”
Luncheon said all other stakeholders have been, and are, urging parliamentary political parties to enact the bill. “No doubt, the parliamentary Opposition feels that it could escape the consequences of its action to oppose enactment and Cabinet considered that sheer delusion.

Worst-case Scenario
“The fact is in the worst-case scenario, the average Guyanese, any Guyanese, disadvantaged in his or her foreign overseas financial dealings – buying, selling, transferring, remitting – all of those transactions once adversely affected to the disadvantage of the average Guyanese, it will remind them that it was the perfidy of the Opposition that landed Guyana in this mess.”

Meanwhile, at last week’s press briefing, Luncheon had announced that government very soon intends to table an appropriately worded amendment to the Procurement Act.
“We undertake to identify government nominees for parliamentary consideration to sit on the Public Procurement Commission (PPC), subsequent to the enactment of the amendment.”
He had said that government has reason to expect A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) support for a role of Cabinet in procurement.
The Alliance For Change (AFC) has long been linking its support for amendments to the AML/CFT Bill to the establishment of a PPC. Cabinet continues to find this “absurd,” Luncheon had declared.
Luncheon had said, too, that authorities are still hoping, “even at the very last moment,” that the AML/CFT legislation would be passed before the deadline. “We are hoping that this piece of legislation joins the whole repertoire of legislative instruments that are here applicable in Guyana and used in the fight against terrorism.”
Just recently, Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General, Anil Nandlall observed that Guyana has violated every time-frame prescribed by CFATF. Currently, the country stands to, most likely, be placed on a list of non-compliant jurisdictions at the November meeting of CFATF in The Bahamas.
“Should that occur, the ramifications for our commercial sector and our image as an investment and tourist destination are indeed as far reaching as they are profound. In the end, every single Guyanese would be affected.
“Yet, the Opposition continues to make utterances which tend to suggest that they do not consider this as a matter of importance and urgency. Indeed, no other than the Leader of the Opposition was reported as saying that he is unconcerned about the deadlines fixed,” Luncheon remarked.

***PULL QUOTE: ‘The fact is in the worst-case scenario, the average Guyanese, any Guyanese, disadvantaged in his or her foreign overseas financial dealings – buying, selling, transferring, remitting – all of those transactions once adversely affected to the disadvantage of the average Guyanese, it will remind them that it was the perfidy of the Opposition that landed Guyana in this mess’ – Luncheon