THE behaviour of the political Opposition towards the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act (AML/CFT) has been characterised by government as “deliberate sloth,” Secretary to the Cabinet Dr Roger Luncheon said yesterday.

“Deliberate sloth invites a repetition of the calamity that was barely avoided in Nicaragua recently,” he stated at his usual post-Cabinet press briefing at Office of the President in Georgetown.
Guyana had been given a timeline to effect the passage of the amendments to the AML/CFT before last May 27, but this was not done. The bill still  remains in Parliament.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global watchdog against financial crimes, met in Nicaragua from  May 27-30 with the intention of examining how Guyana and other countries in the Caribbean are meeting their international obligations.
It was here that Guyana was granted a November extension, following requests by Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall to be allowed more time to hammer out amendments and discuss enforcement of laws that are already in place.
However,  it was announced yesterday that Guyana now has until August 26 to enact the amendments before the bill could be considered at the November meeting.
“CFATF (Caribbean Financial Action Task Force) has made the reality of that November timeline even clearer by confirming on the select committee’s request that the amendment bill will have to be enacted by August to allow their proper consideration by the November deadline,” explained Dr Luncheon.
“We are lucky to have avoided what was being prophesied in Nicaragua and therefore one should see change in behaviour post-Nicaragua, particularly immediately post-Nicaragua. But is that happening?
“Count the number of parliamentary select committee meetings. The next one we are told is July 3. Today one expects the parliamentary process to respond appropriately to an avoidance of this near calamity. I think the case has been made for our conclusions about deliberate sloth,” Dr Luncheon said.
Meanwhile, he recalled that the abuses of the parliamentary process by the Opposition, using its one-seat majority, continued during the most recent sitting on June 13. “Four times, four bills, four security pieces of legislation tabled by Minister Rohee were rejected by the Opposition.
“They were rejected without even a pretence of a contribution by the Opposition at a debate. The Opposition MPs (Members of Parliament) did not offer a single word explaining or justifying their rejection of those specific bills.
“Their rejection of being accountable even at parliament is most alarming. Explanations, justifications to them, to Guyanese, stakeholders, even to their own constituency, are obviously considered by the Opposition to be something voluntary. Thirty-two MPs emphasising to Guyanese, ‘We don’t have to offer any explanation to any one of you.’ What next?”
If Guyana does not take specific steps by November 2013, then the CFATF will identify Guyana as not taking sufficient steps to address its AML/CFT deficiencies and will take the additional steps of calling upon its members to consider implementing counter measures to protect their financial systems from the ongoing money laundering and terrorist financing risks emanating from Guyana, and at that time CFATF will consider referring Guyana to the Financial Action Task Force International Cooperation Review Group (FATF ICRG).