[www.inewsguyana.com] – The Private Sector Commission (PSC) has taken a decision to petition the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) asking for a delay in any decision to refer Guyana to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) until the end of March 2014.
The Commission has asked CFATF to consider the severe economic consequences that would ensue if Guyana is declared a non-compliant state.
This comes following calls by Government’s Chip Whip Gail Teixeira which challenged all Guyanese to petition CFATF in recognizing the importance of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLCFT) Amendment Bill.
Teixeira’s call came on the heels of the defeat of the Bill in the National Assembly by a majority opposition vote even as Government prepares to present a report to CFATF on the progress in enacting money laundering legislation.
The PSC says it is fully cognizant of its duty to represent the interests of its members, the wider business community of Guyana, the interests of the workers whose labour enables Guyana’s businesses to function and grow and the people of Guyana and has, therefore, decided to take this action in what the Commission believes to be in the national interest.
The PSC, in seeking a delayed decision of the Task Force, remains convinced that the governing and opposition parties in the National Assembly are genuinely committed to passing an Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Bill into legislation which will serve Guyana’s best interest and that the opportunity for finding consensus among the parties is not lost.
The Commission has offered its good offices to facilitate agreement between all the parties on this essential legislation. Over the last two days, the two opposition parties – A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance for Change – have noted their support for the return of the Bill to the National Assembly.
