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Opposition Parliamentarians yesterday walked out of the Anti-Money Laundering Special Select Committee,Eric Rowe Patriots Jersey, in response to Governmentâs support for the Private Sector Commission (PSC) attendance of meetings of the Committee in an observer capacity.According to a Finance Ministry statement, the PSC had submitted a letter to the sub-committee last month requesting,Bart Starr Packers Jersey, as stakeholders,Dwight Freeney Falcons Jersey, to observe the meetings.âTonight (yesterday), Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh moved the motion to have the PSC attend the meetings but the Opposition, after objecting strenuously to the PSC being allowed to attend all meetings of the committee,Dermontti Dawson Steelers Jersey, walked out of the meeting in an attempt to avoid voting on the matter,â the release said.âMinister Singh maintains Governmentâs position that the private sector of Guyana has a legitimate interest in the timely passage of the legislation,Ben Roethlisberger Steelers Jersey, given the grave consequences that would devolve on Guyanaâs economy should Parliament fail to enact the amendments,â it added.According to the release, the Finance Minister described the Oppositionâs stance as âa most unfortunate development,â which âreflects yet another attempt by the Opposition to frustrate the timely passage of this bill.ââTheir refusal to allow the PSC to observe the committeeâs proceedings reflects the fact that they are unwilling to be unmasked and have revealed to the world at large the blatant delay tactics they have been attempting in frustrating the work of the committee. âAccording to the statement, the Finance Minister said that that Government members of the committee emphasized that they would have âabsolutely no objectionâ to the PSC attending and observing the proceedings of the committee.âIn contrast, the Opposition clearly and persistently objected to the PSC being permitted to attend and observe all of the meetings of the committee. They attempted to evade and contort the matter and, eventually, when the Chairperson of the committee attempted to put to the committee the specific matter of whether the PSC should be permitted to attend all meetings of the committee in an observer capacity,Grady Jarrett Falcons Jersey, the Opposition walked out,Mike Webster Steelers Jersey,â the release stated.According to the Finance Ministry, this is the second incident where the Opposition has moved to muzzle the PSC in Parliament.âOn November 6, last year, the combined Opposition voted down the motion for the reading of the PSC petition on the Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Bill prior to its debate in the National Assembly.âThe petition represented 17 private sector groups which sought to urge Members of Parliament to recognize the damage to the private sector,Paul Hornung Packers Jersey, local economy and the citizens of Guyana if the legislature failed to enact the bill.According to FATF, jurisdictions that have not made sufficient progress in addressing the deficiencies or have not committed to an action plan developed with the FATF to address AML/CFT will be penalized. If Guyana does not comply, it will join countries such as Algeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Myanmar, Pakistan,James Harrison Steelers Jersey, Syria and Yemen as a blacklisted country by FATF.â |
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