SCORE ONE for the APNU/AFC coalition in succeeding, so far, to ensure the coming proposed international blacklisting of Guyana, among other states, by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF).Such a pyrrhic victory would be achieved as a consequence of the parliamentary opposition’s refusal to date to support the government in passage of the required legislation to combat money laundering and terrorism.
Hopes of securing the opposition parties support, starting at the level of the parliamentary Select Committee, following an earlier signal from APNU’s leader, David Granger, were further dashed last week, as disclosed by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall.
This has resulted in the latest indication that the CFATF has been disappointed enough to go ahead with expected notification of the distressing status quo to the Paris-based Financial Task Force. That development could result in the shaming of Guyana among states that have failed to have required law in place to effectively block money laundering and anti-terrorist activities.
In our editorial last Sunday, titled “Gimmicks vs Realities”, we had referenced a reported assurance by Opposition Leader Granger of forthcoming parliamentary support for the AML/CFT Bill before July 14. Our expressed hope was that this could indeed be a reality. However, since then there has been another opposition somersault, an act being perfected with recurring new political antics by the APNU/AFC coalition.
Meanwhile, to the grief of the Guyana Government, major stakeholders as well as generally well informed  Guyanese across the political divide,  the CFATF is in the process of moving  to advise the  FATF  whose International Review Cooperation Group (ICRG) is due to meet later this month.
We are, therefore, now being left to hope that even at this late stage, the APNU/AFC opposition axis could find it possible—in Guyana’s best interest— to support passage of the much too long delayed anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist legislation to avoid the looming blacklisting of this nation.
Failure to cooperate with the government for passage of the legislation could well prove a very costly political crime for the Guyanese people to forget when the moment of national decision-making arrives.
Enough said for now. The more politically matured and nationally committed elements within both APNU and AFC must rise above the political arrogance and pettiness that stand in the way of overdue parliamentary approval of the anti-money laundering, anti-terrorism bill.
We started out by amusingly calling, tongue-in-cheek, to “score one” for the APNU/AFC alliance’s coming success to have Guyana “blacklisted” internationally, as a state that enables crimes of money laundering and terrorism by lack of having in place required relevant legislation.
Such “success” for the opposition would, of course, prove a pyrrhic victory with tremendous harm to Guyana’s future.  Let those who have ears to hear listen carefully.