THE government on Monday moved one step closer towards having its State Asset Recovery Agency (SARA) established, by having the Bill read for the first time in the National Assembly. Presented by Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs,Basil Williams, the Bill seeks to establish SARA in consonance with the United Nations (UN) Convention Against Corruption 2003.
The agency, which will be headed by a director, will, inter alia, seek to recover through civil proceedings, State property unlawfully acquired by a public official or any other person, and to engage in international cooperation in the recovery of stolen assets of States within the contemplation of the Act.
The State Assets Recovery Bill is seen as the APNU+AFC’s signature legislation in its fight against corruption. The government has been harshly criticised in the past for its “lukewarm” approach to recovering stolen State assets and fighting corruption.
The agency will also be self-funded, with a percentage of assets recovered being put into a State Assets Recovery Fund.
According to Section 14 (3) of the Bill, funds will be used to facilitate the discharge of SARA’s functions; compensate victims who would have suffered as a result of an unlawful conduct; transfer property to a foreign state or territory or share it pursuant to a treaty or agreement; to fund training and capacity-building as may be required for the agency; and for payment of fees to counsel, forensic experts, investigators, receivers and other professionals.
Back in October 13, 2016, when he addressed the National Assembly, President David Granger had mentioned that the Bill was on his government’s legislative agenda aimed at correcting “these aberrations and will protect the interests of Guyanese by strengthening Guyana’s legal architecture.”
Meanwhile, to help strengthen the efficacy of the Bill, the government will be moving to pass the Witness Protection Bill, which provides for the establishment of a programme to protect certain witnesses and other persons and the Protected Disclosures Bill, referred to as the ‘Whistleblowers Bill,’ aims at combating corruption and other wrongdoing by encouraging and facilitating persons to make disclosures of improper conduct.
New staff of SARA will have to be appointed by the National Assembly within six months of the Bill’s passage.
However, according to Attorney General Williams, “The director will have the vision of the organisation; he has people working with him, and is guided by this statute, this legislation.”
But there have been reservations regarding the power which will reside with the director. The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) is one such body which had expressed its concern last year.
In a statement,the GHRA had said, “The sweeping powers available to the director of the agency, and the manner of his or her appointment is of great concern.”
The organisation also pointed out that relative to the powers, it believes that the Commissioner of Police, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Head of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU), the Bank of Guyana, private banks, and the Chairperson of the Guyana Gold Board are just a few public and private entities that are required to comply with the requests of the director of SARA. This, the GHRA said, provides enormous powers to the director who, they contend, will be a “political commissar.”