— PM tells IMF team

THIS is according to Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo when he briefed a high-level Mission from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as he explained that all is well in Guyana on the governance front.

The Prime Minister on Friday received the Mission which is headed by the Brazil-born Executive Director, Alexandre Tombini, who represents Guyana and 10 other countries on the organisation.
The IMF Mission consulted the prime minister on governance related issues, including the work of the Integrity Commission, the National Assembly and the judiciary, as well as on the state of the Rule of Law in Guyana. The prime minister explained how the Coalition Government has guaranteed the financial autonomy of the legislature and the judiciary, stating that his government respects and observes the doctrine of the separation of powers.

Mr. Tombini was accompanied by Mr. Meredith Mc Intyre, Chief of Mission for Guyana, together with the following other persons:- Mr. Aasim Hussain, Deputy Director, Western Hemisphere Department; Economists Messrs. Julian Chow, Ippei Shibata and Seedwell Hove; and Ms. Zahrah Mohammed, Senior Adviser to the Director.
Budget Director, Mrs. Sonia Roopnauth, along with Ms. Gracelyn George and Ms. Verna Adrian represented the Ministry of Finance while the prime minister’s team comprised Mrs. Abeena Moore, Permanent Secretary; Dr. Amanda Jaisingh, Executive Secretary of the Integrity Commission; Mrs. Deeann Ali, Personal Assistant to the Prime Minister; and Ms. Christina Mohan, PAS (G).

During the consultation, which lasted over one hour, views were exchanged on a wide range of governance issues including the institutional framework to ensure integrity in public spending from oil revenues. In this regard, the prime minister gave the Mission a synopsis of the Guyana National Resources Fund which contains strong fiscal rules for access to oil revenues, and the vision for spending on infrastructures and on capacity building that is outlined in the ‘Guyana Green State Development Strategy’.
The prime minister disclosed that in area of good governance, Guyana has done much in recent years, which has won it accolades from transparency and human rights institutions. He noted that Guyana stands tall in its efforts at transparent procurement and integrity in public life. In the latter, he explained the progress made in reconstituting the Integrity Commission, and legislating for a new Code of Conduct for public officials.

The IMF Mission acknowledged the improvements in the work of the Integrity Commission.
Although Guyana is not within any IMF programme, the multilateral financial body re-committed to promoting the non-oil sectors to meet future demands in an oil economy for food security, and to boosting skills training to prepare the labour force for the new oil economy. The consultation was held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere.
Meanwhile, the IMF Team discussed Guyana’s anti-money laundering policy during a meeting with Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, this week.
It was stated that the meeting focussed on the Government’s Anti-Corruption Policy, especially in relation to anti-money laundering and the countering of finance of terrorism and proliferation (AML/CFT/PF) and Guyana’s legal and institutional framework relating to the UN Convention Against Corruption.

Williams indicated that President Granger, upon coming into office in 2015, gave a high-level commitment to combat corruption and as a result of this commitment and the zero tolerance to corruption stance of the government, the AG noted that Guyana was able to pass on to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)/International Co-operation Review Group (ICRG) and Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) third round mutual evaluation process.

“This was as a result of several amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Finance of Terrorism Act, Cap 10:11 and the passing of the Terrorism and Terrorist Related Activities Act 2015 which dealt with the Vienna Convention, Palermo Convention and the Terrorism Financing Convention,” the ministry said.
Additionally, Williams stated that legislation was passed giving effect to the UN Convention Against Corruption, namely the State Assets Recovery Act 2017, the Witness Protection Act 2018 and the Protected Disclosures (Whistle-blower) Act 2018. He also discussed the mandate of the AML/CFT/PF National Coordination Committee and Guyana’s upcoming fourth round mutual evaluation by the Caribbean Action Task Force (CFATF).
In addition to the anti-corruption measures discussed, the visiting IMF team inquired of assets declarations of public officials.

In response Kumar Doraisami, the Chairman of the Integrity Commission, highlighted the relevant provisions of the Integrity Commission Act, Cap 26:01 and the mandate of the commission.

Among those at the meeting were Matthew Langevine, Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU); Ms. Alicia Williams, Compliance and Outreach Officer of the FIU; Ms. Niranjanie Ramprashad, Assistant Director of Supervision Division at the Bank of Guyana; and Ms. Joann Bond, Deputy Chief Parliamentary Counsel.