A DECISION from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Guyana’s fate, regarding the country’s non-compliance with the international Anti-Money Laundering and Countering of the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) standards, is expected today.

And President Donald Ramotar has made it clear that, in the interest of the people’s welfare and that of the nation at heart; he has tried his utmost to make all the compromises he can.
“I tried my best to make all the compromises I can…we have put in place all the non-legislative measures so that the Government would have done everything it can in discharging its duty to the Guyanese people,” Mr. Ramotar said.
The Head of State referred to the state of affairs and Guyana’s unique situation at the Private Sector Commission’s (PSC) 22nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at the Pegasus Hotel yesterday.

UNACCEPTABLE DEMANDS
“I cannot accept the position that I should sign every single Bill that comes out of the National Assembly. I will not make that promise to anyone,” the President said, referring to the main Opposition’s demands in exchange for their support of the AML/CFT (Amendment) Bill.
The enactment of the AML/CFT (Amendment) Bill before CFATF’s last meeting in May, by all accounts, could have averted Guyana’s referral to FATF on May 29, particularly since CFATF had 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 eventually voted down by the combined Opposition in November 2013. The Bill was re-tabled in December 2013, and again referred to the Parliamentary Special Select Committee, chaired by Ms. Gail Teixeira, where it has been since.
Government had repeated its willingness to have the Bill passed, and has demonstrated its commitment to same, but up to the last meeting of the Select Committee, remained locked in political gridlock with the combined Parliamentary Opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and Alliance For Change (AFC).
Both Parties have linked conditionalities to their support for passage of the AML/CFT (Amendment) Bill.

REJECTED OWN BILL
APNU proposed three amendments, which were included in the Party’s draft amendments to the Principal AML/CFT Act, which President Donald Ramotar said would be supported by his Government if the Party would agree to pass the AML/CFT (Amendment) Bill. This was rejected.
“I have said to them I am still ready to talk….I was prepared to give them their own Bill, I told them we were ready to pass the Bill with their amendments inside, only asking that if the CFATF and FATF say the Bill passed was not compatible, then they should commit to make it compliant. They turned down their own Bill,” the President said yesterday.
Additionally, APNU’s position is an ‘all-or-nothing’ one, as the Party maintains its demands not only for their Bill, but also restated its call on the President to give his assent to several Bills passed in the National Assembly, including the Local Authorities (Elections) (Amendment) Bill 2013, which states that elections must be held on or before August 1, 2014. The Head of State has already forwarded his explanation for his non-assent to the National Assembly.
On the other hand, the AFC, which is fully behind APNU’s position, is demanding the establishment of the Public Procurement Commission (PPC), which the government has agreed to, providing that Cabinet retains 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.

UNPATRIOTIC POSITIONS
The Head of State questioned the Opposition’s interest in supporting the development of Guyana, given the positions they have taken.
He said, “I do not understand why there needs to be any compromise to pass a bill (the AML/CFT [Amendment] Bill) of this nature. This is a Bill that touches every single business. This is something that touches every life, regardless of whether you are a supporter of the Government or not.
“It (the non-passage of the Bill) demands and reflects on (a sense of) patriotism, it is a patriotic duty to spare our country what can happen if we eventually become blacklisted.”
According to him, Government is constantly put in a position of having to stave off negative impacts on the Guyanese people because of the Opposition’s actions, and surmised that it would seem that the current Administration will have to continue to do so.
“We have people in Paris fighting to stave off what the non-passage of this Bill can do,” the President said.
Presidential Advisor on Governance, Gail Teixeira represented Guyana in Paris this week, and used the opportunity to sensitise the gathering to the rather unique situation of Guyana.
FATF’s new Methodology for assessing technical compliance with the FATF Recommendations and the Effectiveness of AML/CFT systems sets out how the FATF will determine whether a country is sufficiently compliant with the 2012 FATF Standards, and whether it’s AML/CFT system is working effectively.
FATF is the global standard-setter in the fight against money laundering, and the financing of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and over the past 20 years, the organisation has developed, used, and refined rigorous compliance mechanisms to help ensure global compliance with its Standards. FATF sets standards and promotes effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.
The international body pronouncements are expected to be published in a summary of the outcomes of its plenary meeting which started on Monday.
Written By Vanessa Narine

[box type=”shadow” align=”alignright” ]“I tried my best to make all the compromises I can…we have put in place all the non-legislative measures so that the Government would have done everything it can in discharging its duty to the Guyanese people.” – President Donald Ramotar[/box]