“No Guyanese will be spared the impacts of blacklisting”

– Guyana’s Home Affairs Minister warns

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) on Tuesday evening hosted a symposium where members of the public were engaged on the current issue of the day, the repercussions of Guyana’s blacklisting as a result of the non-enactment of the critically important Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) (Amendment) Bill.

Guyana was effectively blacklisted internationally last Thursday, following the announcement by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) that the country was referred to the international body, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The regional watchdog body’s review was in relation to the protection of the international financial system from money laundering and financing of terrorism risks, and the encouragement of greater compliance with standards.

 The body made it clear that Guyana has AML/CFT deficiencies, and has not made sufficient progress in addressing these. CFATF also detailed counter-measures to be taken against the country by its members.

IMPACT ON THE SMALL MAN

Among the main concerns raised by members of the public last evening at the Red House in Georgetown were the consequences that will be felt by the average Guyanese man, woman and child.

Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, who was among a panel that included Attorney-General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, and PPP General Secretary, Clement Rohee, explained that no Guyanese will be spared the impacts of blacklisting.

According to him, the price for goods and services, timely transactions in the banking sectors, remittances that many depend on, the local foreign exchange rates and even Guyana’s credit worthiness will be affected.

“The typical question that the people of Guyana ask is why the party in Opposition in Parliament would try to present themselves as a responsible party and take such a destructive position?” Dr. Singh asked.

He stressed the gravity of the consequences that are staring at Guyana. “These will bring the economy to its knees; we must reject this,” he said.

WASTING TIME

The AG, in responding to the possibility of successful dialogue, stressed that the admission by the Alliance For Change (AFC) and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) that the AML/CFT Bill can be passed within 72 and 48 hours, respectively, is an effective admission of the time wasting that characterised the delay in having the legislation enacted.

He pointed out that their admission that the Bill can be passed in a matter of hours indicates that the Bill, which will be passed, is the Government’s Bill, which is not only CFATF-compliant, but also a Bill that was agreed to by all three parties since February this year, long before the deadline. “All the masquerading was a package of farce,” Nandlall said.

The PPP General Secretary decried the actions of the combined Opposition as power grab mechanisms.

“We have a special breed of political animals; a special breed of political species that is not found anywhere else in the Caribbean. These people believe in governing over ruins,” he said.

Rohee referred to the fact that it is the same politicians that now represent APNU who formed part of the People’s National Congress, the party that ran Guyana’s economy into the ground and presided over the worse economic period the country knew – a period that lasted almost three decades.

He opined that the combined Opposition is seemingly intent on causing “economic and social chaos” that will ultimately destabilize the country – a situation they seem to expect to extract political advantage from.

“The Government is working hard to get Guyana on the ‘White List,’” Rohee said, bemoaning the fact that these efforts are being thwarted by the combined Opposition.

“There is a high degree of political cynicism, to the extent that it has become so corrosive that it is destructive…why do we want to pressure our people?” he asked.

The General-Secretary questioned where Guyana will go, if history is allowed to repeat itself.

“The country cannot stay at a standstill…the population is waiting for answers,” he said, adding that no Guyanese wants to go backward.