LEADER of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Khemraj Ramjattan yesterday explained that its demand for the establishment of the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) cannot be met without the cooperation of all three political parties in the National Assembly.

“Our position has not changed,” Ramjattan said at a press briefing held in Committee Room number 2 at Public Buildings.
According to him, the establishment of the PPC will only be possible with the support of a two-thirds majority in the House and he noted that this was a major consideration in his party’s move to call for a tripartite agreement that will allow for a consensus to be reached on the main Opposition’s amendments.
The three amendments seek to change the entire governing apparatus of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU); remove the Attorney General wherever that name appears and replace it with the FIU; and vest a police officer or customs officer with a power to seize currency from any person, anywhere in Guyana, if those officers have reason to believe that the currency is the proceeds of crime or will be used to finance crime.
The AFC Leader acknowledged the pronouncements by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force’s (CFATF) advisor, Roger Hernandez, as reported in the media, that the amendments were “risky” ones.
Ramjattan noted that the amendments should be passed with the Bill and the final legislation be allowed to be reviewed by CFAFT.
“They will check them out,” he said, reiterating his call for a compromise.
Hernandez last Friday said, “The concern that we have is that the amendments being put forward may make those areas that were formally compliant, non-compliant. There is a risk with that,” he said.
He explained that there are two major risks in the amendments as presented: one that Guyana could become non-compliant in areas the country has already been deemed compliant; and two, that their implementations present several challenges in terms of effectiveness.
The CFATF official stressed that these “observations” were made known to all the Committee members for their consideration.
Ramjattan, however, maintained his call for compromise to result in a “win-win-win” situation for all three political parties.
“We need APNU’s support,” the AFC Leader said.
Ramjattan added that his party’s position on the Government’s insistence has been made clear, and while the AFC is unprepared to support this, it has forwarded an amendment to the Government, which reflects a reasonable compromise.
“We are willing to compromise,” he said.
The Parliamentary Select Committee reviewing the AML/CFT Bill is expected to meet again next Wednesday, March 5, at which time further light will be shed on the fate of the Bill and the way forward for Guyana in terms of avoiding international blacklisting.