Teixeira likens Select Committee meetings to negotiating a hostage situation
–but doggedly determined to see talks through to the bitter end

CHAIR of the Parliamentary Special Select Committee, Gail Teixeira, contends that the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) (Amendment) Bill is being “held hostage” in the Committee by the Opposition.

‘This is not something to take lightly; this is a serious development in our country’

Speaking during a live televised press conference yesterday, held at the National Communications Networks (NCN) studio, she noted that there is no indication that the Opposition intends to “climb down” from the “maximum position” they are holding out on.
With the next meeting of the Select Committee scheduled for today, the official gave the assurance that Government is committed to continue its fight on the matter and continue its attempts to persuade the Opposition to budge from their positions.
“We will not boycott our own meeting,” she said.
Teixeira stressed that in her two decades serving as a Member of Parliament (MP), she has never seen a Bill held hostage in Committee.
“This is not something to take lightly…this is a serious development in our country,” she said.

NO ROOM FOR NEGOTIATIONS
Teixeira stressed that Government is “wuking we brain” to come to an agreeable position, but noted that Government is not “living in a fool’s paradise” when it comes down to recognising that there is little room for negotiation.

‘For us, the door is open, and we continue to do our best; we will try to free this Bill from being held hostage’

“What else can we do,” the Committee Chair questioned, adding that in any negotiation process the door is always open for something.
“For us the door is open and we continue to do our best…we will try to free this Bill from being held hostage,” she said.
The Chair added that the Government’s position is “most reasonable” and is a “minimum” position.
“Our position is a minimum one…the Government’s position is the simplest and least confrontational of all,” Teixeira said.
She underscored the difficultly in the negotiation process, given that neither A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) nor the Alliance For Change (AFC) is willing to compromise on their “maximum” positions.
“The Opposition has not been persuaded to move one iota on its maximum positions,” the Chair said.
Teixeira added, the fact that the Opposition continue to hold out is an indication of their intention to keep the AML/CFT Bill hostage.
She dubbed this stance intransigent, reckless and anti-national.
“It has been an awfully long haul,” Teixeira said, referring to the fact that the Committee’s work has been going on for over 10 months now.
According to her, the maintained positions of the Opposition are reflective of a pattern to run the Government through the legislation.
She made it clear that the Opposition’s actions are aimed at “determining” the functions of the Government vis-à-vis the legislature.

POWER GRAB
Attorney-General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, in whose name the Bill was tabled, echoed similar sentiments.
He charged that there is a “political power grab” by the Opposition, whose demands have no nexus to the Bill that is before the Committee.
The demands being made by the APNU are that: President Donald Ramotar give his assent, where he has withheld it for stated reasons, to Bills that have been passed in the National Assembly, in particular the Local Government (Amendment) Bill; the commencement order for the Local Government Commission Bill be singed; and that the their three amendments to the Principal Act, which according to the Standing Orders the Committee has no remit to consider, must be included with the Bill.
The 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 a police officer or customs officer with a power to seize currency valued at $2M from any person, anywhere in Guyana, if those officers have reason to believe that the currency is the proceeds of crime or will be used to finance crime. The APNU’s position on the latter amendment changed this week with the threshold for seizure being moved from $2M to $10M.
The AG pointed out that since the beginning of the 10th Parliament, there has been a struggle in the National Assembly with efforts by the Opposition to vest powers of the Executive, as stated in the Constitution, to the legislature, where they hold a one-seat majority.
He cited Budget cuts and the recommendation that Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee, be removed as Minister, a call that was not considered by the President and which subsequently saw the Opposition moving to “gag” Rohee in the National Assembly.
“Their quest is a singular one…it is a grab for political power,” Nandlall said.
The AG stressed that the Opposition is seeking to acquire power, not through the ballot, but through the “back” door.
“The APNU is hijacking Executive functions and placing it in the bosom of the Legislature,” he said.
Nandlall stressed that the Opposition’s stance on the work of the Committee is a “manifestation of authoritarianism” as their approach to governance.
“It is difficult to rationalize the Opposition’s positions,” he posited.

STRONG BILL
Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, was also on the panel at yesterday’s press conference and made it clear that the Principal Act of 2009 is already a strong piece of legislation, as evidenced by comments by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF).
And he stressed that the AML/CFT Bill, on which there is no objection, will augment that strength.
The minister reminded that the Principal Act itself was the subject of review by a Special Select Committee for some two years and was unanimously passed in the National Assembly.
He stated too that CFATF’s review process is a continuous one and the legislation continues to be strengthened with each wave of review.
On the issue of enforcement of the legislation, Singh explained that enforcement is a work in progress and to date “considerable progress” has been made, efforts that have been publicly recognised by CFATF.
He added that there have been moves to establish the institutional architecture that would facilitate efforts to address money laundering and financing of terrorism concerns.
The minister referred to the last two annual reports of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which outline these efforts, both legislative and non-legislative.
He disagreed that there has been no success in enforcing the Principal Act.

CARDINAL TRUTHS
Singh reiterated what he described in the drawn-out process of coming to an agreement, including the fact that:
* The AML/CFT Bill is one that was agreed to by the Committee unanimously since February 9, ahead of the February 10 sitting, at which time the hope was to pass the Bill to avoid possible review by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) review on February 13;
* APNU’s amendments to the Principal Act came after 10 months and the Chief Parliamentary Counsel is still working in drafting them, considering possible clashes with sister legislations, as well as the Principal Act itself;
* The fact that the proposed amendments are “problematic” and need to be studied and possibly reformulated for the Government to agree to it;
* The rejection of the President’s offer to pass the CFATF compliant AML/CFT Bill and have APNU’s amendments sent to CFATF to ensure they are compliant with the Principal Act and, barring no problems, his commitment to assent to these at a later date;
* The AFC’s revised position extending from the demand to establish the Public Procurement Commission, which the Government is prepared to do providing it maintains its no-objection role;
* The fact that the AFC reneged on an agreement made on February 23, the Mashramani Agreement, to extend its position to include APNU’s demands, which in turn saw the Government not submitting its nominees for the PPC as agreed;
* The explicit pronouncements of CFATF regarding the importance of the Bill’s enactment; and
* The fact that the Opposition’s position, in its entirety, is indefensible.
The Finance Minister called for reason to prevail, especially considering the impacts on the local financial sector.
According to him, these impacts include: increased burdens with financial transactions, reported closure of accounts with foreign banks not wanting to do business with Guyana; reported refusals for processing of bank transfers, until increased documentation is completed; and the fact that Guyana has already been blocked from accessing foreign developmental funds.
Junior Finance Minister, Bishop Juan Edghill, also addressed the risks to the average Guyanese citizen and made clear the importance of having the voices of Guyanese heard.
“The power is in the hands of the people,” he said.
Today’s Select Committee meeting is expected to shed further light on the way forward for Guyana and its shortcomings in becoming CFATF compliant.

(By Vanessa Narine)