GEORGETOWN – Guyana’s aggressive push to overhaul its economy and accommodate a surge of local and foreign investment hit a critical bottleneck, prompting Attorney General Anil Nandlall to convene an urgent, high-level meeting with the entire banking and finance sector.
The goal: to force the modernization of financial transactions and ensure new, groundbreaking laws translate into faster, easier services for citizens and businesses. The meeting yesterday, a direct follow-up to discussions held with President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, brought together the Attorney General, Ministers Collin Croal (Housing) and Susan Rodrigues (Tourism), and chiefs from the Financial Intelligence Unit and the Finance Ministry.
Representatives from every major bank, including Republic, Scotiabank, and GBTI, were in attendance.The core of the discussion centered on ensuring three pivotal pieces of new legislation, part of the government’s agenda to dismantle outdated laws and promote the “ease of doing business”, are fully functional.
Clarification was sought on the practical operationalization of the Security Interests in Movable Property Act 2024, which aims to improve access to credit by allowing movable assets to be used as collateral. Discussions also focused on the immediate use and acceptance of digital signatures in banking and corporate documents under the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act (ECTA) 2023, and guidelines were sought for the critical process of registering mortgages for condominium units under the Condominium Act 2022.
The Minister stressed that government agencies must not continue to allow citizens to “feel like we’re stepping back into the Stone Age” when accessing services.In a move to directly reduce friction, the Attorney General encouraged the banking sector to embrace Supervision Guideline 13, which reduces the requirements for establishing a bank account, underscoring that further reviews are already underway to reduce the burden of doing business.
Nandlall reaffirmed that while all financial institutions must rigorously comply with the Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act, where Guyana maintains a “high” rating, they must also champion the President’s vision for speed and efficiency.
The summit concluded with a commitment from both the government and the financial sector to strengthen dialogue and act immediately on legislative gaps, ensuring that the objective of making Guyana an easy place to do business remains an achievable priority.
