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“The Alliance for Change (AFC) is prepared to let the entire nation suffer” was the utterance of People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Executive Secretary, Zulficar Mustapha, when he along with other representatives of the ruling party shared the spotlight during a press conference on Monday at Freedom House.PPP Executive Secretary Zulficar Mustapha (centre) is flanked by other party officials during Monday’s press conference.Reading from a statement, Mustapha disclosed that the PPP is deeply concerned at the “Anti-Nationalistic” stance taken by the AFC in an attempt to have its own way. He was at the time making reference to the decision taken by the faction of the parliamentary opposition to withdraw its support for the Government’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill.According to Mustapha, “such is the reality that even their staunchest of supporters are now coming to grips with that party’s latest position on the Bill.”This development, he said,Wholesale NFL China Jerseys, comes even after the AFC and A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), which together hold the majority in the National Assembly, sought to indicate the importance of the amendments to the legislation which was enacted in 2009.However,Dwight Howard Hawks Jersey, a gap in the Act required that it be amended in order to not only synchronise a number of other pieces of legislation, but also to ensure that “dirty money” does not go undetected.But according to the Executive Secretary, although the opposition had seen the need to have the amendments sent to a Special Select Committee, “what we have not heard from them are any tangible suggestions on what they would like to have included in this amendment.”Moreover, he noted that the action of the opposition has only served to confirm the ruling party’s suspicion that “the only aim of the opposition is to stall this bill past the deadline so our nation can be blacklisted internationally and our people, particularly the business sector, suffer.”Government has been desperately advocating for the passage of the Amendment Bill, as failure to do so could see Guyana being blacklisted by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, for not doing enough to combat money laundering and stop the financing of terrorism. The Task Force, made up of 29 states of the Caribbean Basin, was created in 1990 following meetings in Aruba,Jerseys From China, and is mandated to implement measures to address the problem of money laundering. Guyana is slated to undergo a review in this regard from May 27 through May 31, 2013.According to Mustapha “their (opposition) plan of destabilizing our country by attempting to weaken our economy is a most diabolical one, more so since our nation has been experiencing unprecedented economic growth for the past seven years, and this is projected to increase with, as you know, our country recording the second highest economic growth rate for 2014 in South America.”He also pointed out that the opposition’s dramatic cuts of over $30 billion of the 2013 national budget are clear examples of their agenda to stall economic growth.“Who suffers, if our economy begins to shrink? Who suffers,Cheap NFL Jerseys, if our businesses begin to downsize or close up all-together? Who suffers, if our revenue base begins to decrease and Government cannot afford to pay wages and salary increases or even maintain current increases? Who suffers, if Government cannot maintain its massive social sector programmes in health, education, water,Throwback Jerseys, housing and pension?”“Who suffers, if Government cannot afford to assist farmers and construct critical infrastructure? Ultimately, our people will suffer and it will not matter who they voted for or who they support or what they look like,NBA Store,”Mustapha said that the PPP is fighting relentlessly to stave off a bleak future for Guyana adding that “the time has come for us in a united voice to let the opposition know that they should put the interest of the nation and our people first rather than any narrow political agenda.” He said that the party will continue to fight against “this attempt to destroy the economic livelihood of our people.” |
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