PARLIAMENT HAPPENINGS UNDER REVIEW THE PPP/C’S LEGISLATIVE AGENDA, MORE Gov’t invested over $15B to develop housing infrastructure in 2021 – National Assembly hears

The government injected $15.063 billion in 2021, to advance its impressive housing drive, ensuring Guyanese have access to affordable housing solutions.

This was on Wednesday (May 10, 2023) disclosed during a sitting of the National Assembly at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Liliendaal.

In a written response to the opposition prepared by Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, it was stated that a whopping 119 contracts were awarded for land preparation and infrastructural works by the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) to develop several housing areas countrywide.

The Housing and Water Ministry’s 2021 work programme included the construction of roads, drainage channels, and access to water and electricity.

The execution of these works brought employment opportunities to many communities, which transformed the lives of Guyanese by providing disposable income

National Intelligence and Security Agency Bill sent to special select committee for further review

TheNational Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) Bill of 2023 was on May 10, 2023 sent to a parliamentary special select committee for careful review to ensure its content is fully comprehensible to all parties it concerns.

In a recent statement posted to his Facebook page, President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali said he had instructed Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, and Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, , to have the bill sent to the committee so that the views of all concerned stakeholders can be examined. “I am aware of the importance of this Bill, but equally, I am committed to ensuring the fulsome nature of the Bill is understood and that interested stakeholders be given the opportunity to contribute to it,” Ali had said.

The proposed bill seeks to establish a body known as the National Intelligence and Security Agency responsible for further enhancing the country’s defence and security policy, as well as the coordination of the nation’s defence and law enforcement activities relating to national intelligence and security.

The agency will also provide national security advice to the president, cabinet and other stakeholders where necessary.

The bill further provides for NISA’s functions to be exercisable in the interest of national intelligence and security regarding foreign policy, threats from espionage and protection from undermining of democracy and state institutions.

It outlines NISA’s governance structure, the appointment, removal, and terms of service of the director and deputy director of the agency, as well as other officers and employees, and the agency’s funding and financial management, among other things.

This includes the power to intercept communications, function with the power of officers of the police and defence forces, request information from public bodies, and coordinate with other entities in the security sector.

Further, a specific clause of the bill provides for the obligation to observe secrecy as well as affine for such infractions, stating, “Every person having a duty in the administration of this act shall regard and deal with as secret and confidential all information relating to the functions of the agency, and if at any time such person communicated or attempted to communicate any such information to any person other than in pursuance of, for instance, the discharge of a function under this act, a Court Order or the investigation of a crime, the person commits an offence and is liable on conviction on indictment to a fine of five million dollars and to imprisonment for five years.”

Proposed Real Estate Bill to be completed within two months

The first-of-its-kind Real Estate Bill will be completed in two months and will be tabled in the National Assembly subsequently, paving the way for the regulation of the local real estate industry.

Consultations are continuing among real estate agents, interested stakeholders, and the government on the draft bill that was circulated over the past few weeks.

“Consultations will continue and hopefully within the next two months, we should be able to complete this important piece of legislation to take to the National Assembly , “Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mohabir Anil Nandlall, SC, said on Tuesday (May 16, 2023)

The comprehensive piece of legislation is integral to Guyana, as it will regulate the local industry for the first time, since the real estate sector has been identified as one of the areas where a regulatory framework is needed.

“A lot of money passes through here and Guyana’s AML/CFT (Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism) fiscal structure has been flagged for non-regulation of this important sector,” he pointed out.

While the bill provides for the sector to be as self-regulatory as possible, it incorporates a structure that brings together the government, the private sector, and for families.

Great Diamond, Little Diamond, Vigilance, Strathspey, Bladen Hall, Experiment, Prospect, Cummings Lodge, Anna Catherina, Cornelia Ida, Edinburg, Stewartsville, No. 75 Village, Ordinance/Fortlands, Herstelling, and Providence were among the areas developed.

Over $360 million in con- tracts were awarded to Puran Brothers Disposal Inc. for the construction of the fourlane highway from Eccles to Mandela, Lot 3, and in excess of $370 million in contracts were awarded to Guyamerica, to execute infrastructural works at Providence, East Bank Demerara.

Government has implemented several measures to make homeownership easier for Guyanese, such as the reversal of the value-added tax on building materials and the implementation of the steel and cement subsidy.

To date, over 22,000 house lots have been allocated, in keeping with government’s commitment, to distribute 50,000 house lots within its first term in office.

Debates on $31 billion in supplementary funding pushed to next sitting

The supplementary financial papers that were expected to come up for approval at the May 10, 2023 sitting of the National Assembly were pushed to the next sitting, at a date to be fixed.

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Gail Teixeira on behalf of Senior Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh on April 24, 2023 presented a Supplementary Bill comprising Financial Papers Number 1 and 2 to the National Assembly relating to programme components of the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030 to be financed from carbon credit inflows.

three months to determine the structure of the two disbursement channels outlined in the LCDS 2030: • Disbursement Channel 1: real estate operators.

“It’s a very comprehensive bill that will deal with qualifications, registration of real estate agents, disciplining of real estate agents, and their ethical rules and principles by which they will be bound,” Minister Nandlall added.

The bill will also address the training of persons involved in the industry. Guyana’s AML/CFT framework is slated to undergo its fourth round of mutual evaluation in September 2023 by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) and Financial Action Task Force (FTAF).

Enactment of the real estate bill is essential to Guyana’s fourth round of mutual evaluation by the CFATF and FTAF.

Work began in 2009 with the original Low Carbon Development Strategy–the first such strategy from any developing country in the world. A national consultation from October 2021 to July 2022 saw the original LCDS expanded and enhanced, culminating in the endorsement of the National Assembly and then the finalization of LCDS 2030.

In November 2022, Guyana issued the world’s first jurisdiction-scale, sovereign carbon credits as the next phase in Guyana’s creation of a global model for forest climate services.

This was followed shortly afterwards by the world’s first sale of such credits in global carbon markets.

These carbon credit inflows are being allocated to programme components of the Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030 and come on the heels of the Government of Guyana’s engagement in further consultation over the last

Village-Led Investments: After the seven-month national consultation on LCDS 2030, it was agreed that 15 percent of all revenues received from the sale of carbon credits would be paid directly to indigenous and local communities across Guyana. For the year 2023, this totals US$22.5 million or G$4.7 billion and is catered for under Financial Paper No 1 of 2023. Over January to February 2023, the National Toshaos Council, the national body of elected Village Leaders from across all ten regions of Guyana, led engagements which determined a structure for the allocation of these carbon credits payments. This structure centers on the determination of payments, based on population, and includes villages (both titled and untitled areas), communities, and satellites. Indigenous villages and local communities will define for themselves their priorities of economic development initiatives of social upliftment, on climate adaptation and mitigation and food security that need to be advanced for village sustainability to be fostered. Village level governance structures are empowered through the Amerindian Act 2006, to deliver on village sustainability plans, outlining the short, medium and long-term priorities for each Village. These plans outline how villages, through a process of self-determination and autonomous management, will identify and implement actions to develop village livelihoods whilst addressing the impacts of climate change. It is intended that long-term carbon credits financing, will see flows of revenues to villages and communities from this year 2023 and onwards into the future.

• Disbursement Channel 2: 85 percent of earnings from the sale of carbon credits, so far to a total value of US$127.5 million or G$26.5 billion for the 2023 allocation. This will meet the most urgent priorities of low carbon development, as well as climate adaptation and mitigation interventions outlined by the LCDS 2030 which is being sought under Financial Paper No 2 of 2023.

Advancing low carbon development while addressing the impacts of climate change is a core focus of this investment, and attention will be aimed at supporting the strong stance that Guyana has maintained nationally and globally on forest governance and management, and forest legality.

Guyana’s exemplary forest management systems, strong codes of practice, and maintained high forest cover and low deforestation rates have been recognized by programmes such as the European Union’s Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade Initiative.

The Government will continue to work with all stakeholders in the implementation of these programmes – implementation that will see this first series of investment made under LCDS 2030, bringing about impactful results on sustainable livelihoods and low carbon development across all spheres of society.