Opposition’s grandstanding is retrograde leadership

ONE would have thought that, after the recommendation of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) resulted in the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) postponing a final decision on blacklisting Guyana because of non-compliance with international protocols regarding prerequisites for countering high crimes in the world, proposing instead to make a decision when CFATF met again in May last, would have impelled some degree of patriotism to emerge from the dark souls of the Opposition leadership.

However, hopes that the Opposition cabal would relent and finally show some patriotism and wise leadership in the spirit of the advocacy on this country’s behalf, and the pronouncement of the FATF to be somewhat lenient toward Guyana in its final decision about blacklisting us because of the Opposition’s intractable lack of support in the National Assembly when they, time and again, defeated the Government’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Bill in the National Assembly were dashed as that fateful day came and went.

The decisions of the 2013 November CFATF meeting and plan of action regarding Guyana, therefore, remain unchanged.

Guyana had to file a report by February 28, 2014 to the CFATF for their review and report to plenary members in May 2014. This report was supposed to include Guyana’s plan of action to correct its deficiencies as part of the ongoing process; but Guyana remained at the mercy of the joint Opposition’s recalcitrance that was defeating compliance of passage of the AML/CFT bill.
At that forum, Guyana was expected to attach to that report the conclusions on the AML/CFT (amendment) Bill, bill number 22, 2013, which has been stagnating through various delaying tactics by the combined Opposition in the parliamentary special select committee, with hope for a satisfactory conclusion and an eventual passage of that vital bill so that a copy of the said enacted bill would be analysed by CFATF, correlated to the deficiencies to provide the report to plenary in May 2014.

But that did not happen, despite Guyanese citizens, civil society bodies, in particular the business community and affiliate organisations, the labour movement, the diplomatic community, the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the Caribbean Community (Caricom), all publicly appealing for timely passage of the bill. Throughout it all the joint Opposition remained adamant; demanding in return quid pro quo returns before they supported the passage of the bill, putting their self-serving interests before the interests of the nation.

Their demands would be untenable for any Government; but they have shown no remorse in their pursuit of power through using the nation’s welfare as bargaining chips for selfish gains.
Blackmailing the Government through holding the nation ransom to their irrational demands is a consistent tradition of initially the PNC; and now the conglomeration of PNC/APNU/AFC.

Guyanese citizens across the land, and even in the diaspora, appealed to the joint Opposition to, for once, put their welfare before their power and wealth-hunger and self-interests and ensure that the AML/CFT (Amendment) Bill was passed in the National Assembly with urgency before our country was irrevocably blacklisted by the international community. Their unreasonable and unconstitutional demands, incompatible with CFATF recommendations, caused further unwarranted delays in bringing the nation in compliance. The joint Opposition created an impasse only they could have ended; but they seemed to think the entire imbroglio was a game where they hold the winning cards; when instead their implacable stance held dire implications and consequences for this nation.

The decision to delay punitive “blacklisting” sanctions against a non-compliant Guyana by the Paris-headquartered Financial Action Task Force (FATF) – the ultimate decision-makers, comprising 34 member nations of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), had been influenced by the various appeals from stakeholders and wellwishers in and out of Guyana. That body showed goodwill to the Guyana Government and the people of this nation by allowing additional time for passage of the vital legislation upon a recommendation from the Port-of-Spain-based Caribbean Action Task Force (CFATF) to extend the deadline for a final decision on Guyana’s compliance with required legislation to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism. This evidenced great mercy and goodwill for Guyana and Guyanese by people who had nothing to gain by showing mercy to the Guyanese nation; but the PNC/APNU/AFC combo refused to put the nation first and demonstrate similar goodwill and mercy to this nation and allow Guyana to become compliant with international protocols on countering money laundering and terrorism. The devastating effects are slowly being felt, even at the grassroots level and the repercussions and deleterious consequences of the Opposition’s grandstanding at the nation’s expense are slowly escalating, because every Guyanese has now been branded in the international community as money-launderers and terrorists.

One wonders whose interests they are guarding by their adamant position on non-support of the anti-terrorism and anti-money laundering bill: Because only cartels, terrorists, drug barons and money launderers will hold sway and benefit from the ensuing blacklisting to this nation due to the non-passage of the AML/CFT Amendment Bill.