FOLLOWING criticism from the Private Sector Commission (PSC) and the Opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP), on the State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA) Bill, Government on Friday said the Bill was subject to wide consultations and will be debated in the National Assembly.Cabinet Secretary and Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, told reporters during a post Cabinet press briefing at the Ministry of the Presidency that Government is prepared at this point to have the Bill debated in the National Assembly on March 9.

He said consultations were held recently by Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, before the legislation was taken to Cabinet for approval and noted the concerns raised during the consultations were taken into consideration. The PSC in a letter to Speaker of the House, Dr. Barton Scotland, admitted that consultations were held on the Bill, but noted that the Bill, as presented to the National Assembly, represented the original Bill presented during the consultations.

In the missive dated February 6, 2017, the PSC said the recommendations put forward during the consultations were not factored into the tabled Bill and therefore called for the Bill to be taken to a Special Select Committee where its provisions and implications can be thoroughly examined and debated.

“The Private Sector maintains that the provisions of this Bill are in conflict with the rights enshrined in the Constitution of Guyana and constitute a threat to democracy and good governance,” the letter stated. But notwithstanding the PSC’s position Harmon said, “When a matter goes to the Select Committee, it is really giving the public and several organisations another opportunity to comment on it, and we have given them that opportunity.”

He said that it is government’s intention to go ahead with the debating of the legislation and noted that if “at the end of that [debate] there are issues that have arisen that propel us to go in a certain direction, whether it goes to Select Committee or we pass it as it is, then that is a decision that will be made then.”
The Cabinet Secretary said too that when consultations are afforded, it is the opportune time for all stakeholders to provide their views. “Because you cannot keep legislation moribund, just waiting, we have to move this country forward and deal with issues, with persons who have stolen state assets, and we have to have the legal coverage to go after those persons,” he said.

Not to be outdone, Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo said SARU was created explicitly to target and intimidate PPP leaders and members, and, as practice has shown, members of the business community, “its objective is vindictive and its practices violate the Guyana Constitution. The State Assets Recovery Bill before the National Assembly intends to enshrine these violations.”

He asked, “if the APNU+AFC government was genuine in going after corruption and protecting state assets, why has the SARU taken no action on any of the 26 scandals that have taken place in the 21 months of this government’s term? “If one chooses just a few of these scandals that have been publicly exposed – Durban Park Development Project, the Sussex Street Drug Bond, the multi-million settlements to the financiers of their 2015 electoral campaign, using billions of dollars of tax payers money estimated modestly at over $80B, the silence and inaction of the SARU speak volumes of its real agenda. Unashamed, this government is prepared to squander and raid the treasury to return the political investment of their electoral financiers.”

However, in defending the need for the bill, SARU in a statement earlier this week said it has discovered an “astounding” scale of corruption here and urged that the States Assets Recovery Bill must be passed swiftly. SARU said that in accordance with Article 54 (1) (c) of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), each State party must “consider taking such measures as may be necessary to allow confiscation of property without criminal conviction.” In this context, SARU said the Bill is designed to facilitate the recovery of illicitly obtained property through civil processes, with the primary objective of reducing the consequential damaging effects of corruption on sustainable development.

According to the unit, the opinions of any Private Sector Commission or equivalent should be principled, balanced and near impartial. “Honest business prefers a fair and principled environment. The passage of this Bill will allow the new Agency to direct a laser-like focus on such assets obtained through corruption, the loss of which has frustrated the development of this country.”

SARU said in some areas of corruption, the size of loss speaks for itself. “Before the change of Government, the nation was losing $28-$35 billion each year through procurement fraud. With regard to illicit capital flight, the nation was losing $90 billion every year. Furthermore, the underground economy caused the nation to lose $188 billion per year. This adds up to a grand total of $306-$313 billion per year, which is a conservative figure, as according to several international agencies, this amount is grossly understated,” SARU said.

The unit asserted that given the purposes of the Bill and the damaging losses to the economy as stated above, it is imperative that the Bill be passed immediately. “The scale of corruption discovered by SARU, to date, is astounding. The Guyanese population is eager to see the country’s assets recovered and appropriate action taken against the perpetrators of corruption. The SARA Bill is geared toward these purposes,” SARU said in its statement.