[www.inewsguyana.com] – President Donald Ramotaris of the view that the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLCFT) (Amendment) Bill can be passed within 24 hours to save Guyanese from the hardships of the consequence of the country being blacklisted.
The President told the Government Information Agency that this is possible given the fact that the Bill currently at the level of the Special Select Committee of Parliament has been deemed compliant by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF).
President Ramotar said the bill’s passage can be achieved if the Opposition parliamentary parties were to show a sense of nationalism in the interest of Guyana and Guyanese.
Opposition Leader David Granger yesterday told the media at a press conference that the Bill can be passed in 48 hours if the government accedes to the Opposition’s demands.
Guyana has been further blacklisted by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) as a result of legislators’ failure to amend the current AML/CFT Bill.
The main opposition – A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) – is not taking the blame for the blacklisting and is instead blaming the governing People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government.
The blame game between the two sides has been ongoing for months now, followed by several fruitless meetings.
On Thursday, the minority opposition – Alliance For Change (AFC) – told a news conference that the Bill can be passed in 72 hours, but Granger believes that 72 hours is “too long”.
To decide on a way forward, another meeting is scheduled to take place on Monday, June 2 between Granger and President Donald Ramotar.
