AS Mr. David Granger and his APNU colleagues continue with their special brand of disruptive, petty anti-national politicking, Guyanese must now hope that better judgment could yet be exercised by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to avoid the blacklisting of this nation for failing to meet the stipulated deadline for parliamentary approval of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering of Terrorism (Amendment) Bill.Much kicked around in their blackmailing politics by APNU and its AFC partner, in an ongoing reckless abuse of their one-seat majority in the 65-member parliament, this “money bill” has been much discussed by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) with Government and Opposition representatives as well as with our vital private sector.
In the process, both the regional CFATF and its international body, the FATF, had made it abundantly clear that the demands being made on the government by the APNU/AFC coalition to ensure their support for Parliament’s approval of the bill were extraneous to required provisions in the AML/CFT amended legislation.
Well, tomorrow begins in Paris, a three-day plenary meeting of the FATF. That’s when the status of Guyana’s AML/CFT Bill comes up for a crucial assessment by the FATF’s International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG).
It is quite sad, tragic really, that having been held to ransom from the beginning of efforts to enact the relevant amendments to the legislation, that the Government and people of Guyana could be held to ransom by two Opposition parties bent on abusing a SINGLE-seat parliamentary majority to jeopardise this nation‘s future. The latest attempt by the government to secure the cooperation of the Opposition failed at a meeting on Friday between President Donald Ramotar and Opposition Leader Granger, as outlined in a report in our yesterday’s edition.
It seems as if both APNU and the AFC are sworn to the pursuit of crass, divisive now-for-now politics while still hoping for forgiveness from the Guyanese electorate at the next general elections.
What wishful thinking! Even now, when there are public sector workers who cannot receive their stipulated monthly income; and social and economic programmes and projects continue to be jeopardised by the callous, slash-and-burn politics by these parties when it comes to approval of annual national budgets.
For now, we remind readers of a burning question we had previously asked in an assessment of the dangerous anti-national politics of the APNU/AFC: For whom the bells toll?