DETERMINED to roll back years of deteriorating security, Government will, this year, provide over $24B to modernise and equip the enforcement arms of the State with the resources to enable them to serve citizens, engender investor confidence, and build trust and goodwill in the business community.This was announced by Finance Minister Winston Jordan when he presented the administration’s $230B Budget on Friday afternoon in the National Assembly. Jordan told the House that in 2015, $21.1 billion were expended to support the implementation of priority actions stemming from the strategic plans that were developed for the Ministry of Public Security, the Police Force, the Prisons Service and the Guyana Fire Service.

He said public security concerns have been a dominant and recurrent theme since this Government came to office, and he noted that the public discourse and disenchantment with the spate of criminal activities that, regrettably, punctuated the security domain prior to May 11, 2015 are an unwelcome provocation that Government inherited.

“Upon our assumption to office, we resolved immediately to bring an end to this unwholesome state of affairs. We committed unreservedly to implement policies to secure our citizens from the threat of national and transnational crime, violence and disorder. Through a series of measures and initiatives, we aim to establish an environment of enhanced human safety and public security,” he said.

CITIZEN SECURITY
Jordan mentioned that, earlier this month, the administration launched the US$15 million Citizen Security Strengthening Programme (CSSP), which will contribute nationally to reducing crime and violence through a comprehensive approach that combines preventive strategies with institutional strengthening activities.

The programme, he said, will address three specific problems: the high incidence of violent behaviour at the community level; the low effectiveness of the police to prevent and investigate crime at the national level; and the high number of repeat offenders. The CSSP activities will focus on skills training to improve community engagement, as well as systems strengthening in order to more proactively prevent and investigate crime and violence.

The programme will also finance sustainable re-entry initiatives by assessing specific needs across the prison system, developing a suitable model for rehabilitation and reintegration, and setting up a case management programme to support and track progress.

The community level crime prevention actions will target 20 communities based on homicide, burglary, robbery and domestic violence rates; while vulnerability will be addressed through social prevention interventions.

“We will focus on developing a cadre of skills and capabilities among community members to address violence, unemployment and counterproductive behavioural risk factors,” the Finance Minister said.

EXTERNAL THREATS
Jordan also noted that the budget has been cast in the shadow of continued threats to Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. He said that in addition to re-ordering the country’s priorities in defence of our national interests, the many acts of aggression by Venezuela have placed considerable financial strain on the country’s slender financial resources, forcing the delay, alteration or curtailment of several projects and programmes.

“We have made measured progress in repelling these hostilities as well as emerging threats and global trends that are impacting our national interest. Our focus in 2016 will be to build on our achievements of 2015 and to further expand our outreach, especially in the hemisphere and in Asia and Africa, through mutually beneficial cooperation programmes,” the Finance Minister said.

He told the House that Guyana will continue to be actively engaged in the regional integration processes, especially CARICOM, Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and MERCOSUR.

“We will also continue to promote the interests and concerns of Guyana at the international level, particularly in relation to the preservation of sovereignty and territorial integrity, human rights and democracy, climate change and the pursuit of the 2030 Agenda of the sustainable development goals.”

ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING
Touching on the issue of money laundering, Jordan said that money laundering allows individuals to disguise the origin of illicit funds, and integrate those funds into the formal financial system, while the financing of terrorism enables terrorists or terrorist organisations to carry out terrorist acts.

Recognising that these activities can have severe economic, social and political consequences for the economy, the Government of Guyana cooperated with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) to fully comply with all outstanding deficiencies related to its AML/CFT regime, and become compliant with the FATF Revised Recommendations which are the global AML/CFT standards.

The Finance Minister said that the National Assembly passed legislation and guidelines on terrorism and terrorist financing. Stemming from these actions, he said, Guyana has fully satisfied five of the eight elements of the Action Plan, and has partially satisfied the remaining three.

He also noted that, in December, 2015, Guyana passed further amendments and regulations, including guidelines on freezing, unfreezing, and providing access to frozen funds. These actions should result in Guyana satisfying the three partially met elements of the action plan.

Jordan said that Guyana is among eleven countries that are currently listed in the FATF Public Statement as Improving Global AML/CFT compliance: Ongoing Process. This listing is referred to as the “Light Grey List”, and it indicates that though the country has strategic deficiencies with its AML/CFT regime, it has provided a high level of political commitment to address the deficiencies through the implementation of an action plan developed with the FATF.

He said Guyana has been encouraged to execute the action plan expeditiously and within the proposed timeframe.

“Mr. Speaker, as a further demonstration of our commitment to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism, we have commenced a national risk assessment exercise with technical assistance and guidance from the World Bank. This exercise will see the participation and involvement of all the major stakeholders, and will help the country to identify, assess, and understand its ML/TF risks.

“The outcome will facilitate the implementation of appropriate risk management and risk mitigation policy measures and the efficient allocation of financial and human resources,” he said.

Government will also be benefiting from funding from the IDB to support anti-money laundering and financing of terrorism initiatives. “In this regard, assistance will be provided to the Government in the following areas: national risk assessments and national strategies; capacity building and regulatory reforms; and knowledge and dissemination.

Jordan announced that the Administration is also in the process of restructuring the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to make it a more vibrant and effective unit, in line with the functions specified in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendation 29. To this end, he said, the Parliamentary Committee on Appointment is currently taking steps to appoint a director and a deputy director for the unit.

Other technical staff will also be recruited, and steps will be taken to enhance their proficiency to ensure compliance with AML/CFT laws and regulations, and facilitate the efforts of law enforcement agencies in combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism activities in Guyana.