AG hosts consultation on State Assets Recovery Bill 2016

The Legal Affairs Ministry today held a public consultation on the State Assets Recovery Bill 2016 before the new legislation is laid before the national assembly for consideration and passing.

The public consultation was held on Thursday morning at the Pegasus Hotel giving citizens to voice their concerns and make recommendations on the draft copy of the State Assets Recovery Bill.

Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General, Basil Williams said the bill is intended to give effect to the non-conviction based asset recovery recommendations contained in the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.

United States Ambassador to Guyana Perry L. Holloway during the consultation spoke of rule of law being necessary for a country to be successful.

He said public consultation is an example of how democracy works and the bill will better enable Guyana to deal with acts of corruption once committed.

During the question and answer segment concerns were raised about the likelihood of a possible court to deal with such issues in light to the backlog of court cases.

Oversight of the State Assets Recovery Agency by Parliament, the process of appointing a director and deputy for the Agency along with other technical issues were also raised.

The bill is intended to combat unlawful conduct and corrupt practices in relation to property and other assets owned by the State, or in which the State has an interest.