THE Guyana Agricultural Producers’ Association (GAPA), a grassroots organisation representing some 10,000 persons, has joined calls for enactment of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) (Amendment) Bill.

The Association stressed in a statement the need for “reason to prevail” in the discussions among political parties represented in the National Assembly. GAPA said, “We welcome the reprieve given to Guyana by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in not taking Guyana up for the International Cooperation Review Group’s (ICRG) Review.
“However, the new February 28 deadline behooves officials elected by the people to act in (the people’s) best interest and ensure that the dire consequences of further negative pronouncements by CFATF (are) avoided.”

EFFECTS BEING FELT
According to the Association, the effects of the non-passage of the legislation, which will bring Guyana in line with international requirements, are already being felt.
GAPA said, “GAPA’s members, some 10,000 stakeholders, stand to be affected severely on different fronts. One area in particular is the international funding that is available to small and medium-sized enterprises for climate change adaptation activities.
“The Ministry of Agriculture had already completed the necessary documentation for submission, which has to be done through the Ministry of Finance. However, given that the Ministry of Finance is not in a position to produce evidence of compliance with international standards, as stated by CFATF, the multi-million-dollar fund, a scheme supported by Norway, cannot be accessed.”
The group noted, too, that grants and loans available from other regional agencies are also being affected by the non-passage of the AML/CFT Bill.
“The agriculture sector is one of Guyana’s main economic pillars, and the average hardworking Guyanese man and woman are the ones at the frontline who will face the repercussions of non-compliance to international standards,” GAPA stressed.
CFATF has already said, “Guyana must therefore pass the relevant legislation and implement all the outstanding issues within its Action Plan, including: (1) fully criminalising money laundering and terrorist financing offences; (2) addressing all the requirements on beneficial ownership; (3)strengthening the requirements for suspicious transaction reporting, international co-operation, and the freezing and confiscation of terrorist assets; and (4) fully implementing the UN conventions.
“Members are therefore called upon to consider implementing counter-measures to protect their financial systems from the ongoing money laundering and terrorist financing risks emanating from Guyana.”
To this end, the Association made clear the urgent need for “reason to prevail” within the Opposition’s ranks to allow a position change that would see the AML/CFT Bill sent to the National Assembly.
The Opposition currently maintains that despite unanimous support for the AML/CFT Bill, it will not be sent to the National Assembly until three proposed amendments are included. Those three amendments seek to: change the entire governing apparatus of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU); remove the Attorney General wherever that name appears and replace it with the FIU; and vest police officers or customs officers with a power to seize currencies from any person anywhere in Guyana, if those officers have reason to believe that the currencies are the proceeds of crime, or will be used to finance crime.

The Opposition has the majority on the Parliamentary Select Committee reviewing the Bill, and to date only a partial draft of their three amendments, which Government contends are problematic, has been completed by the Chief Parliamentary Counsel’s Office.