GENERAL-SECRETARY of the ruling People’s Progressive Party, Clement Rohee, is calling on the Opposition to reassess their maximum positions on the passage of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) (Amendment) Bill, in the interest of compromise, to ensure that the Bill is passed by the National Assembly.Speaking at a press conference on Monday, at Freedom House, Robb Street, he said, “They have to reassess their position and come up with something different or stalemate will obtain.”
Rohee noted that ‘something’s got to give’ given that Government’s positions are minimum positions.

MINIMUM POSITION
This sentiment was last expressed by the Chair of the Parliamentary Special Select Committee currently reviewing the Bill, Gail Teixeira, who stated 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.
The enactment of the AML/CFT (Amendment) Bill before CFATF’s meeting last week, by all accounts, could have averted Guyana’s referral to CFATF, particularly since the body noted that 90 per cent of the deficiencies identified are legislative in nature.
The Bill, to meet CFATF’s requirements, was tabled in the National Assembly in April 2013, but referred to a Parliamentary Special Select Committee and was eventually voted down by the joint Opposition in November 2013. The bill was re-tabled in December 2013 and again referred to the Parliamentary Special Select Committee, where it has been since
To date, APNU and the AFC are still calling for certain conditions to be met before they do so, with the exception of the AFC relaxing its demands a trifle.
APNU, for instance, has proposed three amendments, but given that the APNU’s proposals were viewed as problematic, the Attorney General, on behalf of the Government, earlier last month offered them counter-proposals, in the interest of ensuring that the amendments made are CFATF-compliant. These counter-proposals are being considered by the Parliamentary Select Committee, which has been reviewing the AML/CFT Bill, which held its most recent meeting on May 22, 2014. The APNU maintains its position on conditional support for the Bill.
On the other hand, the AFC, which is fully behind APNU’s position, is demanding the establishment of the PPC (Public Procurement Commission), which the government has agreed to, providing that Cabinet retain its no-objection role in the process; but the latter position has been rejected by the AFC. However, on May 29, after the announcement by CFATF, the AFC, in a statement, noted that it is now willing to budge on its position and support Cabinet’s retention of its no-objection role.

NON-POLITICAL POSITION
Additionally, the PPP General-Secretary maintains that the Opposition continues to play politics with a critically important piece of legislation.
“The Opposition is in this for politics. We have stated our position as a Government. The Opposition is playing politics with this (the passage of the AML/CFT) Bill to get as much political mileage,” he said.
Rohee noted too that the Government’s position, which has been explained repeatedly, is a position in the interest of the State, not a politically based determination.
He said: “Why are we looking for the Government to compromise on this? The Government has said, the Executive Arm of the State has said, that it is not prepared to go down the route (of greater compromise).
“..now if two of us are having a discussion and let’s say we are discussing the purchase or the sale of something and I take the position that I am not selling it for a particular price and you insist that you have no choice, but to sell it for that price; I am not budging or you are not budging, then it is either part ways because I am not prepared to sell cheaper than I am offering and you are not prepared to pay more for it. Obviously we have to part ways or sit down and strike a compromise…now my price is linked to, let’s say it is a family property I am selling, and I cannot go lower that the price I am selling for…I cannot my hands are tied.
“In the same way, the Government has said this is the Constitutional position. You obviously are trying to get your pound of flesh…therefore it seems to me that if the Government cannot move, it is for the other party to move. The Government has explained its reasons for not moving and that is a Government position not a political position.”
Moving past the stalemate, the General-Secretary said is of the utmost importance.
“The Opposition is there to oppose, expose and depose. They have already opposed. They have exposed. The last thing left to do is depose (their positions) which is a massive undertaking that can only happen through elections,” Rohee said.
This hint at elections is not the first such indication that there could be a move to general elections, the last having been made by President Donald Ramotar, who noted that the negative impacts of international blacklisting could constitute a reason to take the nation back to the polls. The leaders of the combined Opposition have made public their contentions that the move to general elections is not the way to end the political impasse that currently pervades the National Assembly.
CFATF, on May 28, pronounced on Guyana’s failure to address deficiencies in Guyana’s AML/CFT framework and through a missive to its members, counter-measures against Guyana were advised, effectively blacklisting the country on the international scene. The regional watchdog body also recommended Guyana to FATF for review.
FATF’s next plenary meeting is slated for June 23 to 25, , in Paris, France, at which time the international body is likely to put Guyana up for review by its International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG).
Written By Vanessa Narine