Govt, Opposition play blame game over anti-money laundering legislation

Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh Monday evening described as unconscionable, the move by the parliamentary opposition to delay passage of the amendments for the Anti- Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act, required as a result of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) review process.
In making these comments, the minister was referring to the opposition’s insistence on Monday to adjourn to October the committee examining the amendments, thereby destroying any chance of the amendments being passed before the August 10 parliamentary recess.

The minister pointed out that the opposition is well aware that in order to achieve the deadline given to Guyana by CFATF, it would be advisable for the amendments to be enacted before the recess.
They are also aware of the consequences of non-enactment, making their actions reckless and inimical to the national interest, the minister stated.
Minister Singh emphasised that the bill has been in the hands of the opposition for several months and had benefited from detailed scrutiny in a special select committee that had met nearly 15 times starting from May 8.
The government has exerted every effort to ensure timely passage of these amendments, Minister Singh stated, and the opposition has frustrated this objective at every available opportunity, the worst example being Monday when they used their majority on the committee to refuse to consider the committee’s report and instead to adjourn the committee to October.
Meanwhile, in a statement of its own, the A Partnership for National Unity ( APNU) said the consideration of amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Bill in the Special Select Committee has been adjourned to October 2013.
At the meeting on Monday, the APNU said the opposition members (who were all in attendance) objected to the manner in which the committee chaired by Peoples Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/ C) Member of Parliament ( MP) Gail Teixeira was attempting to conclude the work of the committee, without giving full consideration to serious issues raised by members of the committee and Guyanese citizens in general.
A major concern has been the matter related to the appointment and function of the Financial Intelligence Unit. The APNU said it is to be noted that very early in the life of this committee, the governor of the Bank of Guyana, Lawrence Williams made a firm recommendation that the obligations placed by the principal act, sections eight, nine (three) (a) and 21(d) should be placed within the purview of the Financial Intelligence Unit. This recommendation has not been dealt with in a satisfactory manner by the committee, the APNU said.
“The opposition also had its own recommendations with regards to the appointment of the head of the Financial Intelligence Unit. We feel that this was too important an appointment to be left in the hands of the minister of finance,” the APNU said.
The APNU said it feels strongly that the government has failed to address the entire act, and has not allowed for the important input of the broader civil society in the process; or allowed space for the weaknesses of the parent act to be accommodated.