Dear Editor,
Apropos Mr Khemraj Ramjattan’s statement that the passage of the anti-money laundering (AML) bill is “easily solvable”, one can conclude that the President has a golden opportunity to act. So please act Mr President!
These times demand leadership, not political ‘mud-fights.’ Who really is this battle for? The people or the small clique of businessmen who have invaded Freedom House?
It was Oliver Williamson in his book Economic Institutions of Capitalism who nicely captured a possible solution when he said: “Transactions that are subject to ex-post opportunism will benefit if appropriate actions can be devised ex-ante. Rather than reply to opportunism in kind, the wise is one who seeks both to give and receive ‘credible’ commitments.”
What the PPP did to the proposal from the AFC some ten months ago has destroyed whatever little credibility they had left. I am speaking directly to the AFC’s proposal for the establishment of the Public Procurement Commission as a pre-condition for support on the anti-money laundering bill.
The PPP cannot continue to subvert a constitutional body as they have done for some 11 years and expect anyone to trust one word out of Freedom House. It is time for the PPP as the largest political force to show its strength by giving something real and tangible to the people. I am however being advised that it might be too late now since after the belated APNU suggested amendments to the AML bills, all is now interwoven. The AFC cannot achieve its objective unless it gives support to the APNU amendments and Guyana cannot progress unless the PPP cedes the Public Procurement Commission. Until the PPP acts maturely, there is nothing else we can do but sign off from this AML debate.
Yours faithfully,
Sasenarine Singh
